


Love thy neighbor

by flamyshine



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-03
Updated: 2011-12-16
Packaged: 2017-10-26 20:10:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/287376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamyshine/pseuds/flamyshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harvey gets shot in the ass by Cupid and falls in love with the first person that he locks eyes with; Mike Ross.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cupided

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for LJ suits_meme.

“Hmm…”

Cupid was scratching his ass through his pants while he sat in front of his desktop computer. It wasn’t just the human beings that used computers these days. Cupid was proud to say that his computer was the best in the entire universe.

‘Ah, the pressure’s killing me.’

It was Valentine’s Day tomorrow and he was going through the list of single human beings in New York City. In his mind, New York was the place where love was the scarcest. His lowly interns could handle other cities that fell in love easily, but New York needed help from someone more experienced.

‘Hmm, what about this guy? Louis Litt?’

Cupid took a look at the intel that he had on the guy. He seemed like a decent candidate; he was a successful lawyer, had a lot of money and loyalty, and loved ‘King Lear’. He had gone through several painful incidents of unrequited love and it seemed like he deserved a happy ending.

‘Why is he still single then?’

Cupid checked the guy’s pictures and found out the reason. ‘Ah, ugly ass. I’m sorry, Litt, your ass isn’t worthy of my pretty arrows.’

Cupid looked at his arrows on the shelves that took up two sides of the office. His interns had put fifty arrows in each quiver, good to go. The arrows were decorated with red chubby hearts and pink kissy lips. Everyone knew that those were his arrows thanks to the words ‘Shot by Cupid’ on the shaft.

‘Oh, whose ass is this?’

He was looking at the pictures of the firm that Litt was working at and spotted a workable ass.

‘Harvey Specter?’

He went through the guy’s profile and noticed that he had never really fallen in love before. There had been a boy in high school and a girl named Scotty afterwards, but Cupid knew it when he saw love.

‘Well, Mr. Specter, it’s your lucky day today. You’ve just been Cupided!’

Cupid gladly added the guy’s name on his target list and moved on to find his next target.

*****

The next morning, Harvey was waiting in line in front of his favorite coffee stand. Today was Valentine’s Day, one of the days that he couldn’t stand. The guy behind him was talking to his sweetheart on the phone, making smacking sounds for her.

‘Jesus Christ.’

Harvey frowned and turned his head. He needed a good distraction. But all he saw was a guy with a big balloon that had the shape of a heart.

‘Don’t these idiots realize that Valentine’s Day is just a commercial trick to make them pay for utterly ridiculous things?’

“Here you go, Mr. Specter, your usual.”

“Thanks, Dale.”

Harvey took a sip of his coffee and looked at his watch. His associate was late, again.

‘Can’t he just get a car like a normal lawyer? I wish I could really fire…’ He couldn’t finish his thoughts as he felt pain on the ass.

‘What the…’

He turned around but nobody was there. It didn’t feel like he was punched though. It strangely felt as if he had gotten a shot.

‘Weird.’

Harvey shrugged it off and took a few steps towards the building when he heard a familiar voice.

“Sorry I’m late! Stupid alarm clock!” Mike hurried off his bike and locked it in his usual spot.

Harvey watched as Mike took off his helmet and smoothed his hair. He found it cute.

‘Of course he’s cute. He’s a kid. All kids are supposed to be cute.’

He rationalized his reaction and put an arm around Mike’s shoulders before pulling back with horror.

“Are you okay, Harvey?” Mike asked, wondering why his boss looked horrified.

“Do I smell like sweat?” He sniffed at his armpits.

“No, it’s not you.” Harvey reassured him.

‘What did Dale put in my coffee?’

Harvey rushed into the building ahead of Mike, contemplating if he should find another coffee stand.

*****

Harvey managed to forget about his suspicious morning coffee as the day seemed to go on like any other day. Nothing worrying had happened for the last couple of hours and he had just asked Donna to get his associate in his office.

“You need me?” Mike poked his head in.

“Yeah, take a seat.”

Harvey looked up from his desk and noticed that Mike looked nicer today. He had seen him in the morning outside the building but he had been distracted by his arm moving of its own accord.

“Nice shirt. You’re finally listening to me and spending money on your suits.”

“Uh, thanks.”

“It shows off your long neck and brings out the elegance in you.” Harvey reminded himself that it was just a compliment for the shirt, not the kid.

“Thanks, Harvey.” Mike wasn’t sure what else he could say. It wasn’t a new shirt. He had been wearing the shirt at least once a week and Harvey had never mentioned it before.

“By the way, good job on the pro bono case.”

“Oh, thank you. I’m glad I won it for the client.” Mike smiled and saw that Harvey was offering him a fist bump.

“Ah, I even get a fist bump!”

As Mike leaned in and hurried to bump his fist, Harvey wondered when on earth he had made a fist.

“So what do you need me for? I assume you didn’t fetch me just to shower me with your compliments. But I have to say it’s really nice to get some appreciation, Harvey. I love it.”

“I love you too.”

There was an awkward silence as Mike couldn’t believe his ears and Harvey couldn’t believe his mouth.

“Uh, I’m sorry. What?” Mike checked his own forehead if he had fever. He couldn’t have possibly heard what he thought he had heard.

“I said I love it too.” Harvey lied. It was a good thing that he had a solid lawyer face.

“Sure.” Mike nodded although he knew that ‘love’ wasn’t a word that existed in his boss’ vocabulary.

“So what do you need me to do?” Mike asked, hoping that the weird tension in the air would disappear.

“Right. I need you to...” Harvey picked up the file that he had been reading. No, it wasn’t the right file. He checked the other files that were on his desk.

‘Which file am I looking for?’

“Having a senior moment, Harvey?” Mike giggled. It was somewhat refreshing to see his usually organized boss look a little disorganized.

“Shut up, rookie.”

Harvey set his jaw and took a moment to remember why he had asked for Mike. He couldn’t figure out what kind of work he had planned for him. The only thing that he remembered was that he had to see him.

‘It’s still the damn coffee.’ Harvey sighed and looked at his associate who had a hard time sitting with a straight face.

“I had bad coffee this morning.” He explained.

“I’m sure you did.” Mike pinched his leg so that he wouldn’t burst into a fit of laughter.

“Well, if you’re done laughing, you can leave now.” Harvey had meant to say it in a murderous voice, but all he managed was a rather endearing voice.

“Okay, I’ll be back when you remember what you needed me for.” Mike stood up.

“Wait.”

“Hmm?”

“Your tie.”

“What about my tie?” Mike looked down at his tie to check if he had something on it.

Harvey got up from his desk and walked over to his associate. The kid didn’t know how to wear a tie properly. It was unbelievable how he had to teach him absolutely everything.

Mike stood still as Harvey put his hands on the tie. He thought about protesting how he knew how to fix his own tie, but it was nice to have your boss do something for you.

“Uh, Harvey?” Mike looked up as Harvey took off his tie. “I thought you were going to fix it.”

Harvey looked down at his own hands. That was what he had thought too. “Well, I figured this would be a good opportunity to teach you how to wear a tie. Now watch and learn.”

Harvey let out a small sigh as he decided to have a little chat with Dale, the coffee guy, to figure out what was going on. If Dale was drugging his customers, he would definitely sue that sorry piece of ass.

*****

It turned out that Dale was _not_ drugging his customers. Dale had looked more than offended when Harvey had asked him if he used any “special ingredients”, and Donna and Ray who frequented the same coffee stand claimed that they were perfectly fine. Harvey had tried out different coffee stands in the past couple of days but he was experiencing similar symptoms; only they were getting worse.

‘I can’t believe this.’

Harvey clenched his fists as he stared at his associate who was sitting across the coffee table. They were working together in Harvey’s office, getting ready for a big meeting with two of their clients. It was one of those boring merger cases, but Harvey’s brain had never been this busy in a merger case.

‘I need to get laid. I’m obviously craving human touch.’

Harvey clenched his fists even tighter. He was busy fighting off the urge to lean over and ruffle Mike’s hair. He also wanted to pat him on the shoulders and pinch his cheeks. His fingers were literally itching to caress his associate.

He had realized the day before yesterday that he was fine most of the time and that strange urges only bothered him when Mike was around. He had managed to keep his distance from Mike yesterday, sending him down to the files room for long hours, but today he really had to work with him.

‘Perhaps I need a doctor. I may have a brain tumor or some kind of a virus.’

Hoping that he didn’t have a brain tumor, Harvey tried his best to focus on the file in front of him.

“Oh, Harvey, check this out.”

Mike showed him what he had found but all Harvey could see was Mike’s long index finger pointing at a particular clause.

“Harvey? Are you all right?”

“Of course I am. Why do you ask?”

“Uh, because you were gaping? It’s not _that_ much of an interesting detail. Besides, you hate mergers!”

Then Mike wore a worried look on his face. “You’ve been acting weird for the past few days. You know that? Are you feeling under the weather?”

Harvey nodded with a long sigh.

“You need pills? A doctor?” Mike was very worried. Even though he knew that his boss was human, he had never seen Harvey sick.

“I think I’ll go see a doctor.” Harvey answered.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Harvey snapped. “I’m a big boy, Mike. I think I can go see a doctor on my own.”

“All right.” Mike held up his hands. “I was just trying to be helpful.”

“Well, you can be helpful by putting your pretty lips to use.” Harvey pointed at all the files that they had to go through.

Mike blinked. “My pretty what?”

Harvey realized what he had just said. “Your pretty brain, of course.”

“Of course.” Mike nodded. Every one made a mistake. Harvey had just made one like any other normal person.

Mike told himself that whatever was going on with Harvey, the doctor would be able to fix it. It was probably just a cold or something. His mind refused to accept the possibility that something could be horribly wrong with Harvey.

Everything was fine for the next twenty minutes. Harvey was quite proud of himself that not a single embarrassing word had left his mouth and that he hadn’t pulled his associate onto his lap and caressed him all over. He had spent ten of those twenty minutes on the intercom with Donna to get an appointment with the doctor, but he was still proud of those other ten minutes.

‘Oh, seriously… Do I have eye problems too or is there really a hair on his forehead?’ Harvey shook his head with a frown. Why did there have to be temptation when he was holding himself back so nicely?

Before he could decide on a course of action, Harvey found himself leaning in and touching Mike’s forehead. A wave of relief hit Harvey as he brushed off the hair. It was soothing to have a hand on Mike.

“Thanks, Harvey.” Mike smiled briefly before getting back to work.

“You’re welcome, dear.”

Mike’s head snapped up.

“What? You look like a deer. Nobody ever told you that? Soft features and that look right now. A deer caught in the headlights.” Harvey hoped that his associate wouldn’t make a fuss about it. It was an honest mistake, not some kind of a Freudian slip.

“When is that doctor’s appointment?” Mike had to check.

“First thing tomorrow morning.” Harvey groaned.

“Okay. Good.” Mike didn’t press the matter and buried himself in the files.


	2. Diagnosed with love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special guest: Dr. James Wilson (from 'House M.D.'). Only the best for Harvey!

  
Harvey had arrived early for his doctor’s appointment. He was too worried that he might have a brain tumor and will only have a few months to live. He had no idea what was in the afterworld but he certainly enjoyed his looks, wealth, and general awesomeness in his current life.

Harvey hadn’t come to see just any doctor. He was sitting inside the office of Dr. James Wilson, the head of the oncology department of the best hospital in New York. He had saved the doctor from a malpractice lawsuit half a year ago just before Mike had barged into his life.

‘If I have a tumor, he won’t miss it.’

He crossed his legs, wondering what would happen to Mike if he really had a tumor. Of course there were operable tumors too, but given how the symptoms got worse very quickly, Harvey had no doubt that if it was a tumor, it would be an inoperable one.

‘It can’t be a tumor. He can’t work for Louis!’

Harvey’s mind was suddenly flooded with all kinds of bad scenarios that ended with Mike getting disbarred and left with no one to help him.

‘But if it’s not a tumor, what else can it be? A virus?’

Harvey thought about what happened yesterday when he had asked Donna to set up an appointment with Dr. Wilson. She had told him that he didn’t need to see a doctor and that he had to talk to Mike. Harvey had told her that she didn’t know any of his symptoms, to which Donna had replied that she had eyes and an intercom.

“Good morning, Mr. Specter. Sorry to keep you waiting.” The doctor walked in with a smile and extended his hand.

“Call me Harvey.” Harvey got up briefly and shook his hand.

“Harvey then. Donna tells me you’re a senior partner now? Congratulations.” James sat down at his desk.

“Thank you. Did she tell you anything else?” Harvey eyed the doctor suspiciously.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” James held up his hands.

“I’m a lawyer, doctor. I read people for a living.”

“Call me James. You practically saved my job.”

“Changing the subject? Nice try, James.”

The doctor made a defeated sound. “Just tell me what’s been bothering you, Harvey. You came early which means that whatever it is, it’s been eating at you.”

“I could’ve just happened to arrive early. No traffic on the street.”

James flashed his patented reassuring smile. “I read people for a living too. I can read the signs. I see that you’re very worried, but I promise I’ll do everything to help you out.”

Harvey liked James. He wasn’t like any other doctor that he had met. James actually cared about his patients. ‘What’s with all these extra-caring people around me?’

“So Harvey, tell me about your symptoms.”

Harvey nodded. “I guess I can skip the ones that Donna told you.”

James smiled. “Tell me the ones you choose to share with me.”

“Well, I think I’m experiencing a personality change.”

“A personality change.” The doctor repeated.

“Yeah. Isn’t that one of the symptoms of having a brain tumor?”

“Let’s not jump to the tumor yet. Tell me more about this personality change of yours.”

“Well, so far it’s been towards one person.”

“And, you see this person quite often?”

“Yeah, he’s my associate. I see him every day. The thing is, I already work close with him, but these days I want him to stay in my sight. I feel calmer when I can see him. Maybe it’s because I don’t trust him alone. I feel the need to teach him everything. And, it’s not just the legal stuff. The kid doesn’t know how to wear a tie, and his jacket always looks a little crooked, his shirt a little wrinkled. I feel like I should fix them with my own hands. Oh, and he can’t even feel it when he has a strand of hair stuck on his forehead.”

“So you’re his mentor.” James played along even though he already had a diagnosis.

“Yeah, it’s my job to teach him how to be a great lawyer. I’ve started mentoring him a few weeks ago, but this week, I seem to be trying a little harder than necessary.”

“You feel the urge to teach him more?”

“Exactly.”

“And, you came to see an oncologist.”

Harvey frowned. “Do you think I need a shrink? I hate shrinks.”

The doctor laughed. His patient looked like a twelve year old kid.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with having a strong urge to teach your own associate. Unless you tell me the whole story, I can’t make a proper diagnosis.”

Harvey let out a sigh. “I came to see you because I also say stupid things in front of him. You know how good of a lawyer I am, James. I never say stupid things, especially at work. I’m sure Donna has already entertained you with what she’s overheard.”

James nodded.

“Then there was this incident the other day when I couldn’t remember which file I wanted him to work on. I had already called him in my office and I couldn’t figure out what I exactly wanted him to do. My memory very rarely fails me, so if that doesn’t scream brain tumor, I don’t know what does! Then there’s also my brain suddenly registering unnecessary things about him.”

“What kind of things?”

“I think he’s cute, when it’s only natural for a kid of his age to look cute. I notice he has long fingers, but who cares what kind of fingers he has? He’s doing great work for me. That’s all I need to know. Then there’s this strong urge to encourage him for doing such great work.”

Harvey let out another sigh. He didn’t want to go into details, but he knew that he had to come clean if he wanted help. Besides, the doctor was bound to keep his secret thanks to the doctor-patient confidentiality agreement.

“I want him to know he’s doing solid work for this firm. So I often feel like ruffling his hair, patting him on the shoulder, and pinching his cheeks. And, when I think he’s extremely valuable to the firm, I feel like caressing him all over. He’s a puppy really, and people caress puppies to encourage their good behavior, right?”

“Sure.”

“So do I need a head scan? Blood test? You name it, I’ll do it.”

“I don’t think that would be necessary.”

The doctor put on a serious face and Harvey felt his heart drop.

“You think it’s untreatable?”

“I _know_ it’s not treatable.”

“How can you be sure without testing me?” Harvey was mad. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

“Because I’ve seen numerous cases like this before.”

“What do I have? A stage four brain cancer?”

James let out a dramatic sigh. He shouldn’t be prolonging his patient’s suffering, but he hadn’t had so much fun in years. “You have a very serious case of…”

“Of…?” Harvey’s mouth went dry.

“Love.”

Harvey blinked his eyes. “Excuse me? I can’t even hear properly now. Could you repeat that?”

“I think you heard me just fine.”

“I don’t think I did.”

“Trust me. You did.”

Harvey chuckled. “Perhaps you’re the one who needs a head scan. The word that I think I heard doesn’t exist in my vocabulary.”

“Well, surprise, surprise! It does now.”

“Your brilliant diagnosis is that I’ve fallen for my own associate? That’s all you’ve got? I don’t know what Donna’s been feeding you, but that’s not what’s going on here.”

James couldn’t help but feel for his patient. That much denial would take a toll on him soon. “Harvey, love is not some sort of a disease.”

“I am not in love with Mike.”

“Oh, so his name is Mike. What a cute name.”

Harvey grumbled. “Don’t you think I’d know if I fell in love with someone?”

“Have you ever fallen in love with someone?”

“I fall in love with the cars at the car club all the time. I know the feeling.”

James thought about saying that a car wasn’t the same as a person, but he had a better idea. “Let’s think about those cars then. If you see a car that you like, don’t you want to keep it in your sight? Doesn’t it make you calmer when you can see it? You can appreciate the body of the car and make sure nothing happens to it. And, don’t you feel the constant urge to caress it because the car does its job so well?”

“It’s not the same.”

“It’s exactly the same. Except that Mike has a beating heart and can reciprocate your appreciation.” The doctor was careful to not use the word ‘feelings.’ He didn’t want to agitate the patient any further.

“Let me ask you a question, Harvey. Let’s say you walked into the car club and spotted a car that suits you. It looks nice and works hard on the road with brilliant results. What do you do with that car?”

“I take it out for a ride.” Harvey answered automatically.

The doctor smiled victoriously. “I think you know what to do then.”

*****

 _In Heaven…_

Cupid was working at his desk, checking on his Valentine’s Day targets. He was going through the ‘current status’ section on his computer, pleased to see that all the hearts had turned red.

‘No gray at all. That’s good.’

He scrolled down leisurely and let out a yawn until his eyes caught something horrible.

‘Wait a second. What was that?’

He scrolled back up and gasped. “A gray heart! This can’t be true! It must be an error!”

Cupid quickly checked the target’s name. “Harvey Specter?”

He then checked who he had first locked eyes with. It was a guy named Mike Ross and he happened to be Specter’s personal associate.

‘Oh, look how cute he is! It _must_ be a system failure. How can you not fall in love with him? If he wasn’t so young, I would’ve kept him for myself!’

He wiped drool off his chin and proceeded to look into the matter.

‘Let’s see what he’s doing now.’

He checked the GPS tracking system and saw the target leaving the hospital.

‘Oh my god, don’t tell me he’s sick.’

He then checked the logs and read through the target and the doctor’s conversation.

“What the he…” Cupid stopped himself just before swearing. There were no words to describe how angry he was.

“This is why I hate human beings! We Gods have to do everything for them! He thinks love is a disease? Well, if he doesn’t feel like loving that adorable creature, I’ll feed him to that coworker of his with the ugly ass!”

Cupid huffed, trying not to do what he just said. He was Cupid. He never screwed up and he never let human beings suffer unnecessarily.

‘It’s your lucky day again, Specter! People rarely get shot with _two_ of my lovely arrows!’

Cupid picked up one of the quivers and flew out of the office. He was going to give that stupid and arrogant human being a good shot in the ass.

Meanwhile Harvey was walking towards his town car, reading the sheet of papers that the doctor had given him.

‘What kind of bullshit is this love test?’

According to the doctor (who didn’t specialize in love, Harvey would like to add), there were other people like him in the world who didn’t believe in love and therefore refused to accept that they had fallen in love.

‘I think even Mike would laugh at this.’ Harvey groaned.

Then he wondered what Mike would be doing right now.

‘He probably got a cup of coffee from the new coffee machine. The kid loves that machine even when he doesn’t know how to use it. He’s probably bribed Rachel to help him with some legal forms, and he must be talking to Donna by now about me seeing a doctor.’

“Harvey! Watch out!” Ray shouted from the car.

Harvey stopped dead in his tracks and realized that he had come very close to stepping on dog feces.

‘Isn’t this a wonderful day.’

He mocked his awful morning and was about to get in the car when he felt a sharp pain in the ass.

“Ray, do you see anyone or anything behind me?” Harvey asked, wondering if his eyes were betraying him.

“No, boss. Should I?”

“So there’s absolutely nothing behind me?” Harvey asked as he got in the car. The pain had only lasted for a second.

“No, I didn’t see anything.”

“Okay then. Let’s get back to the office.”

Harvey’s mind briefly came up with the word ‘hip tumor’, but that just sounded ridiculous.

‘I don’t think the doctor’s right, but let’s take this damn test just in case.’

He pulled out a fountain pen from his jacket pocket and started to circle the correct answers.

*****

“Hey, what did the doctor say?” Mike rushed into the office as soon as he heard that Harvey had come in.

“Not now, Mike.” Harvey quickly hid his love test under a thick file.

“What was that? A test result? You’re hiding something from me?” Mike looked a little hurt.

“Don’t give me that look, rookie. It’s not a test result. The doctor says I’m fine.”

“Do you feel fine?”

Harvey thought about it while he took a good look at Mike. All he wanted to do was pull Mike onto his lap and caress him until he purred.

Mike studied Harvey’s face and noticed that he was in some sort of pain. “What’s wrong, Harvey?”

“Nothing. I think I’ll just take it easy for the next couple of days.”

“Of course. Would you like to go home? I can do whatever work you leave behind and Donna can reschedule those client meetings.”

Harvey was touched at the worried voice. Mike really cared about him. He leaned forward and pinched Mike’s cheek. “Don’t worry about me. The doctor thinks I just have a bad cold.”

“A bad cold? But your voice sounds fine and you don’t have a running nose.”

Harvey cursed Mike for making things difficult. “I have a huge headache, okay? And since I can’t have my associate get sick too, I don’t want you anywhere near me until I get better, understood?”

Mike chuckled. “That’s very sweet of you, but I think I’ll manage. We’re a team! We’re supposed to see each other all the time!”

Harvey put on his scariest expression. “Mike, I mean it. Don’t come near me unless I call you. Or I’ll fire you once and for all.”

Harvey thought that it would be sensible to keep some distance from Mike until he figured out what was really going on with him.

“If you say so. You’re the boss.” Mike nodded, looking dejected.

Now all Harvey wanted to do was pull Mike in his arms and kiss him all over his face.

‘What?! Nobody’s kissing anybody!’

Harvey shooed Mike out of his office and pulled out the love test from under the file.

‘This is ridiculous. I am not in love with anyone.’

He tore the test into pieces, ignoring Donna’s worried look. Why was everyone so worried about him? And, why did the doctor tell him to take Mike out on a date? What’s wrong with everybody? More importantly, what’s wrong with him?

‘Since it’s not a tumor, let’s go back to my original theory. I need to get laid. I’ll leave the office early today, go pick up a nice boy toy, fuck him into the bed, and sleep like a baby. By this time tomorrow, I’ll be laughing at the past couple of days.’

*****

Unfortunately, it turned out that there were two problems with Harvey’s plan. The first problem was that he couldn’t find a boy toy that he liked. He had wanted to pick up pretty much anyone with the male anatomy, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to approach anyone without a frown. The second problem was that he was definitely not sleeping like a baby.

‘For Christ’s sake…’

Harvey woke up in the middle of the night, refusing to believe what he had just dreamed about.

‘Maybe it’s black magic. Something like voodoo. Someone from the opposing counsel has put a curse on me.’

He got out of bed and walked into the kitchen, trying to repress his dreams.

“Oh, Harvey, please kiss me again!”

Harvey shook his head as Mike’s voice rang in his ears. It felt like Mike was right next to him.

“Harvey, darling, you missed a spot on my forehead! You promised me you’d kiss me everywhere on my face!”

Harvey gritted his teeth. ‘What in the world is wrong with me? That doesn’t even sound like something he’d say!’

“Harvey? Don’t you think it’s time you made sweet love to me?” A very vivid Mike winked at him, wearing one of his shirts on his bed.

“No, Mike! I don’t think it’s time I made any kind of love to you! Go away!”

Harvey turned on the faucet and splashed water all over his face.

“But Harvey…”

“I said no, Mike! Get the hell out of here before I fire your pretty ass! I mean it!”

At the ultimate threat, the dreamy Mike finally disappeared.

‘At least the two have something in common.’ Harvey thought as he grabbed a beer from the fridge. If he thought that he had been miserable before tonight, he was beyond miserable now.


	3. The definition of love

  
“Hey, I’ve done proofreading these. Did Harvey leave me any new work?” Mike asked as he put the files on Donna’s desk.

“Nope. He’s too busy searching random stuff on the Internet.” Donna pointed her chin at Harvey who looked very serious in front of his laptop.

“Random stuff?”

“Yeah, I bet he’s looking for clues for his condition.” Donna spoke with a half-amused, half-annoyed voice.

“He told me he had a bad cold.”

“And, you buy that?”

“Not really, but he told me to stay away so there was nothing I could do. Do you think we should be worried?” Mike frowned.

“Nah. He’ll be fine.” Donna wondered how much Mike knew.

“He’d tell me if he had something serious, right?”

Donna nodded and saw that Harvey had spotted his associate.

Harvey felt a tingle of excitement as his eyes met Mike’s for a brief moment. He had been in a bad mood ever since he had told Mike to stay away, but now that he had seen him, he felt a little better. He had spent hours on the Internet last night and all morning to figure out what could be possibly wrong with him, but he hadn’t found anything promising.

“I think Louis has some work for you.”

He heard Donna tell Mike. He felt sick even thinking about Mike wagging his tail at Louis’ compliments. Louis would probably throw him all kinds of tasty bones and Mike might want him as a mentor some day.

‘Over my wrinkled suits.’

If he didn’t want to lose his associate, he had to get better fast.

‘Hmm, for the sake of argument, let’s say that I’m in love with Mike.’ Harvey mused.

‘When did it all start? I’ve known him for a few months now, so I can rule out love at first sight. But then, didn’t it start quite abruptly? It’s not like Mike changed his hairstyle or wears better suits. What was the trigger?’

Harvey couldn’t think of anything that could’ve started this whole mess. As far as he could recall, Mike hadn’t acted any differently towards him or had done anything that would’ve impressed him more than usual.

‘I need to talk to someone who knows about love and who’s not a shrink.’ He also realized that it would have to be someone who would keep his mouth shut.

Harvey thought about the people around him who might fit the profile. Thankfully, he came up with a name: Ray.

*****

Harvey chose a restaurant where they would be able to talk in peace and where Ray would feel comfortable. They devoured the burgers as they talked about jazz until Ray’s expression became serious.

“What’s on your mind, Harvey? I may not be as bright as Mike but I can tell when something’s bothering you.”

Harvey smiled. “I’m sure you can, Ray. We’ve spent many years together.”

“That’s right. So you can tell me whatever’s going on. My lips are sealed.” Ray said sincerely.

“You know I went to see the doctor yesterday.” Harvey started to talk.

“Yes, I drove you. I thought the doctor said you were fine.” Ray looked worried.

Harvey shook his head. “I lied. He said something so ridiculous that I felt like lying.”

“What did he say then? If you think he’s wrong, you can always get a second opinion.”

“He thinks I’m in love with Mike.” Harvey just said it. He was tired after going through so much during the past few days.

Ray laughed.

“I told you. It’s ridiculous.”

“Well, he’s quite lovely.” Ray smiled.

“I wanted to talk to you because you seem to know about love.” Harvey couldn’t believe that he was actually having this conversation.

“You’re talking about Helen?” Ray’s smile became wider as he thought about his lady friend.

“Yes. How did you know you were in love with her?”

Ray shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew. It was simple. I wanted to spend more time with her. I saw her quite often but it wasn’t enough. I wanted more. And, I think I noticed little things about her.”

“Like what?”

“Like how she bit her lower lips when she was excited or how she tucked her hair behind her ears when she needed to ask me a favor. Oh, and I kept seeing her everywhere. I’m not talking about dreams. Well, I did dream about her too, but I’m talking about hearing her voice when I drove around or seeing her when I was alone at my place. I also kept replaying our conversations in my mind or imagining random situations including her.”

Harvey was listening attentively. Ray sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

“But I think it all comes down to one question.”

“What is it?”

“How afraid are you when you think about something awful happening to Mike? Do you feel like you can’t breathe? Are you willing to use extreme measures to prevent that?”

“Of course.” Harvey answered without a thought. He felt his whole body tense up as he imagined Mike dying in some sort of an accident and walking out of his life.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to him.” Harvey’s knuckles went white on the table.

Ray smiled fondly. “I think you found your answer, Harvey.”

“But…”

“There’s no logic in love, boss. I know you’re an expert at logic, but you’ve entered a new territory here. Believe me when I tell you it’s no use fighting against it. You’ll only feel worse. You think I didn’t battle against my feelings for Helen? I’m just a lowly driver and she’s a school teacher. I knew she deserved someone better than me, but I couldn’t help it. I was acting all silly in front of her and couldn’t stop thinking about her. I know I sound like a cheesy love song, but that’s what really happened.”

Harvey thought about Ray’s words. He hated to admit that he fit many of the symptoms that Ray had experienced.

“What do you suggest I do then? I want to get better.”

Ray shook his head. “There’s no cure for love, Harvey. But you’ll feel better if you just accept what’s going on and show Mike how you feel about him.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Harvey snapped.

“Didn’t you listen to what I just said? You’ll feel worse if you keep fighting it.”

“Not. Going to. Happen.”

Ray sighed. His boss could be extra difficult sometimes. “If you don’t feel even a little bit better after giving Mike a box of chocolate, then we can rule out love. How does that sound? Don’t you think he could use some chocolate as a small reward?”

“You think a box of chocolate will do the trick?”

“Well, it’s a start. Give him one and look at his reaction. If you feel better and want to give him another one, it’s love. If you don’t feel any better, then it’s not love.” Ray made it simple for his petulant boss.

“I guess there’s no harm in getting him some chocolate.” Harvey agreed, wondering what Mike would be eating for lunch right now.

“Let me ask you one more question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you ever wonder what Helen has for lunch?”

“All the time! That’s why I always ask her when we talk on the phone. The woman has good taste, by the way.” Ray was proud.

“Mike doesn’t.” Harvey sighed. The whole situation felt like a giant mess.

*****

When Mike came back from the copy room, a rectangular box wrapped in dark blue paper was sitting on his desk.

‘What is this? Santa came early this year?’

Mike opened the box and found chocolate and a note inside.

‘Ooh, do I have a secret admirer? It’s about time!’

He grinned as he hurried to read the note: _Sorry for pushing you away._

It didn’t take Mike even a second to figure out who wrote the note, but it took him a good minute to get over the surprise of receiving something so nice from his boss.

‘I guess he’s really sorry, huh?’

Harvey watched from the hallway how Mike smiled and pushed a chocolate into his mouth. He had gotten him the best Swiss chocolate in the city. He watched as Mike’s smile became brighter while he enjoyed the chocolate. It was a peaceful scene, really. Harvey almost felt that he could fall asleep just from the cozy feeling in his chest.

‘If you feel better and want to give him another one, it’s love.’ He remembered Ray’s words.

‘Damn it, Ray. I want to give him a dozen boxes, not just another one!’

Harvey turned around and headed back to his office, ignoring Donna’s amused look. He didn’t need his godlike secretary to tell him that he was facing the biggest challenge of his life.

*****

‘Hmm…’

Harvey was now searching the Internet to find out about ‘love’. He figured that the logical first step would be checking the definition in a dictionary. According to Merriam-Webster, love meant:

1\. (1) Strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties  
(2) Attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers  
(3) Affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests

‘I do have personal ties with him, but I sure as hell don’t feel any strong affection or attraction based on sexual desire.’

Harvey’s eyes lingered on the third definition. ‘Hmm, but I guess we do have common interests. The kid even knows ‘Mississippi burning.’’

Perhaps he was just a tiny bit in love.

‘I’m sure it’s written in the company bylaws somewhere that a partner should love his associate. I’m doing what Jessica wants for once.’ Harvey mused and then checked Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English:

1\. A strong feeling of caring about someone, especially a member of your family or a close friend  
2\. A strong feeling of liking someone a lot combined with sexual attraction  
3\. Someone that you feel a strong romantic and sexual attraction to

‘Close friend? I guess we’re close enough. But a strong feeling of _caring_? No!’

He sighed and rubbed his face in frustration.

‘Let’s assume I’m a bit in love. Then what’s the next step? What do I need to do to get out of this mess?’

Harvey didn’t want to have vivid dreams about Mike again, so he had to find out what to do next. He visited numerous websites that claimed to know everything about love but couldn’t find the answers that he wanted.

‘I don’t know about this. Flowers? Mike’s a guy. He may have liked chocolate but flowers? And, who writes love letters in the 21st century? I thought we stopped that in the 19th!’

Then it hit him that it wasn’t about what Mike liked. It was about him getting better. How could he have forgotten that?

‘Right. Let’s try to stay on course.’

He kept clicking all sorts of websites as he desperately tried not to wonder what Mike was doing right now.

*****

When Harvey got in the car in the evening to head home, he still had no clue about what to do next.

Ray started the car and looked into the rearview mirror. “So how’s the wooing going, boss?”

“Wooing? Nobody’s wooing anybody, Ray.”

“Oh… Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. I know when I’m wooing someone, and I can tell you this is not wooing.”

Ray chuckled, feeling as if he was dealing with a child. “Did he like it though? Did you feel like giving him another box? Do you feel any better?”

Harvey sighed. “Yes.”

“For all three questions?”

Harvey glared and Ray beamed. Ray knew that he should have to talk to Donna about this. “So you need any help to figure out what to do next? You could feel even better.”

Harvey didn’t appreciate the sing-song tone of his driver, but he could use some practical advice. “What do you suggest I do?”

Ray smiled proudly; he felt like Harvey’s mentor for love. “Take him out for a meal. Both of you have to eat, right?”

Harvey thought about it. The doctor had given him the same advice. “Fine. I guess I can have lunch with him over work.”

“Great! I can tell Donna to make a reservation for tomorrow’s lunch. I have to call her anyway.”

Harvey looked a little surprised. “I wasn’t aware that you two talked on a regular basis.”

“We don’t. But we do share some common interests, so if something shows up on our radar, we talk.”

Harvey would normally pry some more but he was tired. Now that he had a plan, he wanted to go home and sleep like a baby, then have lunch with Mike tomorrow and take things from there.

*****

The next day when Mike followed Harvey into the restaurant, he had to chuckle at the romantic atmosphere. The place was pink for crying out loud.

“It’s like we’re on a date!”

“I don’t know what Donna was thinking.”

Harvey frowned and grabbed Mike’s wrist as he took a step before pulling back with a groan. It was happening again; his hand wasn’t following the orders of his brain.

Mike chuckled harder. “You want to hold hands, Harvey? I think that’s only appropriate in a place like this.”

“Of course.” Harvey answered before correcting himself, “Of course _not_!”

“I was joking, Harvey. No need to yell.” Mike looked at his boss with worried eyes.

“Yeah, I know.” Harvey muttered and quickly walked up to the receptionist.

“Good afternoon, sir. Have you made a reservation?”

“Yes. Specter.”

The receptionist checked her list and smiled. “Yes, Mr. and Mr. Specter. Please follow me.”

“Excuse me…?” Harvey almost stuttered and Mike burst into a fit of laughter.

“Let’s go, darling.”

Mike playfully winked at him and followed the receptionist while Harvey swore that he would make Donna pay for this. He started walking towards the two when he realized that his eyes were glued on Mike’s ass.

‘I am _not_ blatantly checking out my own associate! I don’t even want to do anything with that ass!’

“We’re here, darling.” Mike giggled as he slid into the booth.

“Can you stop with all that darling shit?” Harvey snapped and saw the horrified look on the receptionist’s face.

Harvey opened his mouth to explain that they weren’t married and that they weren’t even in a relationship, but the giggles coming from across the table distracted him.

“Quit giggling and no food for you.” Harvey used his voice of terror, only to realize shortly that he had used the wrong word. “I meant _keep_ giggling.”

“You want me to keep giggling?” Mike now had tears in his eyes.

“No! I meant keep giggling and there will be food for you.” What?! Harvey couldn’t believe this was happening. “I obviously meant _keep_ giggling and there _won’t_ be food for you!”

“Ahahaha…” Mike was bent in half, trying to muffle his laughter with his hands.

‘Oh Jesus…’ Harvey lifted his finger and called the waiter. He needed a strong drink before putting any kind of food in his mouth.

*****

Ten minutes later, Harvey was regretting that he had relied on alcohol to deal with his malfunctioning hand and mouth. He had already come dangerously close to reaching out and stroking Mike’s hair, grabbing his hand and peppering it with kisses, and pulling him by the tie and kissing the hell out of him.

“So Mrs. Grey has…”

Harvey just nodded while Mike told him about the case. He couldn’t bring himself to care about it when Mike’s lips were so red and shiny.

‘I do not feel any kind of sexual attraction to him. It’s the booze.’ Harvey tried to hypnotize himself. He didn’t want to become a sexual predator who feasted on young, innocent associates.

“Harvey? Are you listening?”

“Yes.”

“Oh really? Then what did I just say?” Mike crossed his arms. If his boss took him out to lunch to talk about work, he should be listening while he talked about work.

“You were saying how nice it was of me to bring you out for lunch.” Harvey improvised.

“Smart answer but wrong.” Mike took another bite of his lasagna. “But yeah, it’s nice of you to bring me here. Thank you. The food is great.”

“You’re welcome.”

Harvey smiled as he watched Mike enjoy his dish. A warm whirl of wind was constantly knocking on his heart and it was getting harder and harder to not open the door.

“You’re the best boss I’ve ever had, Harvey.” Mike spoke in a dreamy voice.

Harvey pinched his leg to see if this was one of those vivid daydreams. But Mike was still there after two pinches; he was for real.

“You didn’t have many bosses before me.”

“That’s true, but even if I had a hundred, you’d still be the best.”

Harvey couldn’t hold onto the door anymore. Mike’s sincere smile was affecting him much more than it should.

‘Oh no…’

As the door finally flew open, Harvey saw a smug god play a harp in his mind.  



	4. Flying over rainbows

  
On their way back to the office, all Harvey could think about was how close Mike was sitting next to him. He remembered too clearly for his liking how shiny Mike’s lips had been in the restaurant. He found himself keep trying to reach out to Mike who was looking out the window. ‘Oh, to hell with it.’

Mike was admiring the perfectly sunny weather when he heard the partition go up.

“What’s going on?” He asked, wondering if his boss had something to say in private.

Harvey didn’t answer. Even if he had wanted to, he wouldn’t have been able to. His whole focus was on Mike’s lips moving oh so prettily. He couldn’t think of doing anything else than staring at them.

“Harvey? What’s wrong?”

“Everything. Everything’s wrong.”

Harvey put his left hand on the back of Mike’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He felt a rush of satisfaction and pleasure shoot through his body as his lips covered Mike’s. Everything stopped being wrong and started being right; except for the fact that Mike wasn’t kissing him back.

He pulled back to check Mike’s reaction. If the kid didn’t want it, he was obviously going to stop. Mike was looking at him with confused eyes but there didn’t seem to be any disgust or horror in those mesmerizing orbs. So he leaned in again and urged Mike to open his mouth. It didn’t take long to feel shaky hands on his chest.

‘Ah, he’s going to push me away.’

Harvey was about to pull back when he felt Mike grab the lapels of his suit jacket and pull him closer. Harvey didn’t miss the chance to slide into the welcoming mouth. He couldn’t describe what he was feeling; he had never felt anything like this before. It was new, fresh, and intriguing.

“Harvey…” This time Mike did push him away.

Harvey looked out the window and realized why Mike had ended the kiss; they had arrived in front of the office.

“Uh, good boy… Let’s go in.” He had kissed many souls but he had no clue what to say when you had just kissed your associate.

They got out of the car and walked into the building, both busy trying to process what had happened.

When Harvey reached his office, Donna looked at him with a surprised look on her face.

“Did you have a drink in broad daylight?”

“I only had a few.”

Donna nodded. She knew that Harvey was having a hard time with his crush. She was about to let him go inside when she spotted his kiss-swollen lips.

“Hold it right there.”

“This is _my_ office, Donna. I can go in without your permission.”

Harvey complained but stood still. There was no use ignoring her; she would follow him inside and have things her way anyway. “I told you I didn’t drink much.”

“Are we still talking about the booze here?”

Harvey shot her a dark glance.

“I’m glad you had the balls, Harvey. Or did the puppy bite you first?” Donna grinned.

“Donna.”

“Do you want me to get him some flowers? What’s the flower that says ‘I had a great kiss and we should do this way more often?’”

“Donna!”

“Just know that I’m happy for you.” Donna beamed and patted Harvey’s shoulder.

Harvey stomped into his office like a petulant child. Why did his secretary need to know absolutely everything?

 

Later in the afternoon, when Mike came to report the progress of his work, all Harvey could hear was Mike singing Blink’s ‘Kiss me’ in his mind.

“Kiss me, Harvey~ Kiss me, kiss me tonight~”

‘Oh Jesus, what’s with these cheesy mental images. I should’ve ordered a better drink.’

“Kiss me, Harvey~ Kiss and you’ll be alright~”

Harvey cursed the whole world as he stared at Mike’s lips. He had been working just fine until Mike showed up in his office. He was perfectly aware that Mike was only doing his job, but it didn’t stop him from fantasizing about those lips that had been pressed against his not so long ago.

“Harvey? Are you okay? You’re sweating.”

“I am?” Harvey looked down at his palms. He was sweating indeed.

“Yeah. Perhaps you really have a cold.”

Harvey couldn’t say ‘No, it’s not a cold. I’m just summoning superhuman strength to not kiss the life out of you.’ so he just nodded.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Harvey decided that it was about time to be his confident self. This madness had gone out of control for way too long and it was time to get it under control whether he wanted or not. Besides, he had already crossed the line by kissing Mike in the car.

“You can have dinner with me.” He couldn’t kiss his associate in the office.

“More work?”

“No, just you and me.” Harvey was certain that Mike wouldn’t turn him down. He had kissed him back after all.

“I’m sorry, Harvey. If it’s not work related, I’ll have to say no.”

Harvey’s jaw tightened. What did he just say?

“Why?” At least he deserved to know the reason.

“I promised to go see Grammy, so maybe tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? But I can’t wait that long!” Harvey knew that tomorrow was a much better option than never, but he had to say what was on his mind.

“For what?” Mike looked confused.

“For… well, it’s just that… you know, I’d like to… you see, I just have to…”

Harvey shut his mouth. Did he just _stutter_ like a virgin teenager? A great lawyer like him never stuttered! He hadn’t stuttered even when he was a virgin teenager!

Mike was very worried. “Would you like to join me then? Grammy would love to meet you.” He felt that it was his responsibility to keep an eye on his boss; they were a team after all.

Harvey had no idea how he had managed to move from point A (where he had taken Mike out for lunch) to point B (where he was about to visit Mike’s grandmother who was probably very protective of her grandson as he was her only family left).

“Sure. I’d love to meet her too.” He couldn’t think of any other options since he felt like he had to be close to Mike.

“Great! When I’m done, I’ll swing by your office.” Mike turned around to leave.

“Wait. Come here.”

Mike turned towards Harvey. “What for?”

“You have something on your cheek.”

“Oh…” Mike rubbed his left cheek with his fingers.

“It’s the right one. Come over here.” Harvey hoped that Mike wouldn’t suddenly pull a hand mirror out of his pocket and figure out that he was lying.

Mike walked up to Harvey’s desk, a little startled at the sudden kindness.

“Bend down.”

Mike put a hand on the desk and awkwardly lowered his face. Harvey slowly rubbed something off his right cheek with his thumb… over and over again.

“Uh, if it doesn’t come off, I can go wash my face.”

“Nah, you’re good now.” Harvey pinched Mike’s cheek and let him out of his sight.

 

A few hours later, Harvey was actually glad that he had followed Mike to the nursing home. Mike’s grandmother was an intelligent, witty lady who wanted to play chess with him. She was interested in his pro bono work, so Harvey pretended that he felt an enormous amount of pleasure doing pro bono work. He could feel Mike’s grateful eyes on him which made him feel like a caring person.

As Harvey contemplated his next move on the board, the grandmother asked, “So how do you like my grandson?”

“Haha, Grammy. I’m right here so he’s only going to say good things about me.” Mike chuckled next to Harvey.

“I know that, dear. Why else do you think I’m asking now? I only want to hear good things about you.” She winked at Mike.

A smile found its way onto Harvey’s face. “He’s a great asset to the firm, Mrs. Ross.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s grateful for the opportunity you gave him and works very hard to prove to you that you didn’t make a mistake. But I’m more interested on the personal level. I see you want to kiss him.”

Both men stared at the elderly woman.

“Oh, don’t look so shocked. I may not be a lawyer but I doubt anyone could’ve missed that look. Besides, you’re losing quite horribly, my dear. In two moves, I’ll have to shout ‘Checkmate’.”

Harvey stared down at the chessboard while Mike stared at Harvey. He thought that Harvey had kissed him earlier because he had had one too many drinks. He had just happened to be the one who was in Harvey’s reach. He hadn’t thought that his boss would have meant something. As far as he was concerned, Harvey had never made a move on him before!

“I should probably excuse myself and let you two catch up. You won the game anyway.” Harvey stood up from his chair.

“If you’re leaving, you’re taking my grandson with you.”

Harvey didn’t know how to deal with this woman. Nobody except Donna read him that well and it had taken her years to do that.

The lady sensed Harvey’s confusion and hesitation. “I know it’s not romantic to kiss in front of an old woman, so get out of here and kiss him all you want.”

“Grammy!” Mike felt as if his face was burning. Why was she saying things like that?

“Oh, there’s a small park behind this building if you need a good spot.”

“Grammy! Oh my god, I’m sorry, Harvey.”

Harvey couldn’t remember how he had left with Mike but when he recovered from the initial shock, he found himself sitting on a bench in the park.

“How did we get here?”

“By foot.”

Harvey made a face.

Mike chuckled. “You dragged me here! Anyway, thank you for playing chess with Grammy. I think she really enjoyed talking to you.”

“No problem. She seems to be wise and fun.”

“She is. I’m glad you could see that.” Mike was proud. “Well, I apologize for her nosing into your business though.”

“You mean her saying that I want to kiss you?” Harvey looked into Mike’s eyes.

“Uh, yeah, that.”

Mike felt nervousness creep into his chest. Why was Harvey looking at him like that? Did he want to kiss him even when he was sober? Did he want Harvey to do it? Had he enjoyed it earlier?

“Mike, I want you to shut down your brain for a moment and open your heart instead.” Harvey was freaked out at his own words. Where did that come from? He had never read a romance novel in his life!

“Okay…” Mike tried to stop questioning what was going on.

“I want you to tell me if you don’t like what I do. Your job will obviously be safe and sound even if you push me away.”

“What are you going to do?” Mike was curious.

“I’m going to give you a very long kiss. The type of kiss that makes you feel like you’re flying over rainbows.”

Mike blinked his eyes. Was he really talking to Harvey Specter? Did Harvey usually sweet talk like this to all the people he kissed? The thought of Harvey kissing other people made him frown. His well-respected boss shouldn’t be putting his lips just anywhere.

“I’m going to make you feel beautiful, Mike.” Jesus, why couldn’t he shut up? Harvey battled against his inner fluffy monster as he cupped one of Mike’s cheeks.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut as soon as he felt Harvey’s lips on his. Harvey seemed to be more confident than earlier. Mike wondered how many men his boss had kissed. He also wondered what usually happened after kissing one’s boss.

“What did I tell you about shutting down your brain?”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

Mike shut down the factory and let himself feel what Harvey wanted him to feel. He felt a little light-headed as Harvey kissed him agonizingly gently. Then he felt his arms wrap around Harvey’s neck. Much to his surprise, it didn’t feel awkward or embarrassing.

Mike broke the kiss. “Why are you kissing me?” He had to know.

Harvey could feel awful pick-up lines come up his throat. He swallowed them over and over again until he could speak of his own accord. “I just have to. I want to. I don’t really know why.” It sounded lame, but it was the truth.

“Are you in love with me?” Mike asked incredulously.

Harvey moaned. “That’s what people keep saying.”

Mike’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped. “Do you think they’re right? I’ve never even imagined that you’d be in love with me! You never did anything!”

“Jesus, why are you yelling? You want to broadcast to the whole town?”

“I don’t know! I’ve always looked up to you but you never really appreciate me enough and sometimes your words cut me to the bone so I thought I wasn’t good enough for you and…”

Mike’s rant came to an end as Harvey shut him up with a kiss. When he woke up this morning, he hadn’t expected to get kisses from his boss; life was certainly full of surprises. What was even more surprising was that he now felt something else. Something that he hadn’t felt during the previous kisses was suddenly there, pushing into his mind. He didn’t have time to analyze the feeling though because Harvey had let go of him.

“Don’t ever say that you’re not good enough.” Harvey kissed him on the forehead.

Mike nodded, trying to make sense of the feelings inside him. Was he falling in love? It had been a while since he had fallen hard for someone but he remembered the feeling and this felt pretty close to it. His competent and elegant boss was in love with him. If he didn’t love Harvey yet, he surely loved the fact that Harvey was into him.

“Harvey, I don’t know what to do.” He confided in his mentor. He closed his eyes as Harvey caressed his face.

“Me neither.” Harvey gave him an honest answer.

“But you always know what to do. And, you’re my mentor.”

“Well, in this case, I got myself a mentor so perhaps I should talk to him.”

Mike’s eyes snapped open. “You have a love mentor?”

“Yeah, it’s Ray.”

“Oh...”

Ray had dropped them off at the nursing home and had gone home. Mike figured that it wouldn’t be so nice to call him right now.

 _Growl._

Both Harvey and Mike looked down at Mike’s stomach.

“Sorry. I guess I’m starving.” Mike smiled sheepishly. His grandmother had offered them fruit and crackers, but apparently it hadn’t been enough.

“Let’s get you something to eat then.” Harvey laughed. He couldn’t believe that he found the growling sound of Mike’s stomach pretty. If he was really in love, he was madly in it.


	5. Harvey's guidebook

The next morning, when Harvey got in the car, Ray was grinning hard. “Good morning, boss. Should we go pick up Mike?”

“Good morning, Ray. Why would we do that?”

“He can walk? And bike?” Ray grinned through the rearview mirror.

“Of course he can. We just grabbed a bite, that’s all.”

“Oh, no hugging or kissing?”

“Well, if you must know, we did kiss.” Harvey licked his lips at the beautiful memory.

“How many times?”

“Ray.”

“Come on! I’m your mentor! I need to know so I can guide you to the right path!”

Harvey glared. “More than once. Now quit teasing me. A mentor’s not supposed to tease.”

“But you tease Mike all the time!”

“That’s different. He’s very teasable.”

“I think you could be teasable too.”

“Will you just start driving already?”

Ray nodded with a broad smile on his face. He loved that he could help Harvey; his boss had always been very generous and kind to him that he had wanted to return some of the favor.

“So what’s your next move? You can’t just keep kissing him.”

“I can’t?”

Ray smiled warmly. “You’re Harvey Specter. You always do things right. Mike’s a sweet kid. He deserves someone who’d love him properly.”

Harvey couldn’t argue with that.

“What do I do then? He kissed me back but I don’t think he’s in love with me.”

“Yet. Not in love with you yet. But no worries, Harvey. After I’m done teaching you everything I know, you’ll be having trouble because he’ll be clinging to you all the time.”

Harvey chuckled. He would very much like to have Mike close to him all the time. “I’m glad I have such a confident mentor.”

Ray beamed. “Happy to help.”

Then he proceeded to teach his boss all about wooing. “Ah, but you don’t have an eidetic memory. I don’t want to be blamed if something goes wrong with Mike because you couldn’t remember the details properly.”

“I think you’ve spent too much time with the puppy, Ray. My memory’s just fine.”

“Sorry, Harvey, but love is serious business. I’ll ask Donna to type it up for you.”

Harvey looked into the rearview mirror to check if his driver was joking. But, alas, what he saw was a serious man on a mission.

 

His guidebook was ready late in the afternoon. Donna was kind enough to make it available both in hard copy and in .txt which had already been downloaded to his phone.

“Unbelievable.” Harvey groaned at his secretary. He did ask for Ray’s help, but with a guidebook, he felt like a child who didn’t know anything. “Besides, what’s with Cupid on the cover? And, what are these hideous love arrows?”

“Why, you’re welcome, Harvey. It took me and Ray only two hours to get everything right, including the images.” Donna crossed her arms.

Harvey let out a sigh. “Thanks, but was this really necessary?”

“But of course! How else are you going to remember all the details when you’re busy sweating and stuttering in front of Mike?”

Harvey grumbled. “Remind me to turn off the intercom the next time Mike comes in.”

“Not a chance.”

Donna grinned and flipped the guidebook to page 3. “I know you won’t read the whole thing properly, so I’ve highlighted the most important tips that you could use right away.”

Harvey read tip #1: _Expensive gifts can be a burden at first. Instead, give him compliments and help him with little things in his everyday life._

“He’s neither a voluntary worker nor an invalid.” Harvey pointed out.

“Harvey, you can’t reap the benefits without doing the hard work. If you want to kiss Mike and press something other than your mouth against him, you’ll have to woo him as if you’re wooing a client.”

“But…”

“No ‘but’s!” Donna lifted a menacing finger. “It’s simple, Harvey. Mike deserves the very best and you’re going to be your best for him. Or Mike falls in love with someone else, and you’ll murder that unfortunate human being and Jessica will have to represent you. Which one sounds better to your ungrateful ears?”

Harvey made a face but answered, “The first one.”

“Excellent choice! So when Mike comes in later to give you an update, you’re going to say nice things about his work, his eyes, and whatever else you want to compliment. Are we clear?”

Harvey nodded and glared at the red-haired devil who left his office with a satisfied grin.

 

A couple of hours later, Mike did come in with an update. Harvey let Mike sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk and listened to what he had to say.

“Great job. You did very well.” Harvey meant it. It was easy to appreciate Mike’s work.

“Thanks!” Mike smiled his usual ‘Oh my god, for once, my uncaring boss appreciates my work!’ smile.

Harvey felt light-headed at Mike’s dazzling smile. His heart had just skipped a beat and he felt as if blood was leaving his brain and heading south.

“Mike?”

“Yeah?” Mike sat back down. He had stood up to leave but apparently Harvey had something to say.

“Has anyone ever told you how breathtaking your eyes are?” Harvey wanted to cut off his tongue. He had meant to choose another word, but obviously the lack of blood in his brain was making things hard.

Mike couldn’t stop himself from sporting a brighter smile. “Thanks, Harvey. I’ve heard ‘pretty’, ‘beautiful’, and ‘mesmerizing’, but no, I haven’t heard ‘breathtaking’ before.”

Harvey felt a ball of fire build up in his stomach. “Who the hell said your eyes were mesmerizing?”

Mike’s eyes grew wide at the venom in Harvey’s voice. Was he jealous of Jenny?

“Uh, nobody important. She was just being nice. That’s all.”

Unfortunately, the answer didn’t satisfy Harvey. “I want a name.” He hissed.

“I don’t remember it. I saw her only once.”

“Bullshit. You have an eidetic memory, remember?”

Mike bit his lips. Given Harvey’s murderous glare, Mike was genuinely worried about Jenny’s safety.

“Why do you need a name anyway? Nobody says anything nice about me anymore. I’m with you now.”

Mike had said that only to help his jealous boss calm down, but now that he thought about it, perhaps it was the truth. He had kissed Harvey back which meant that he had enjoyed it and even if he wasn’t in love, people were in relationships all the time trying to figure out their feelings, right?

Mike took a glance at Harvey’s expression. His words must have worked as he saw his boss relax in his chair. He didn’t look like a person who was about to commit murder anymore.

“I think I should go back to work.” Mike got up.

“Have dinner with me?” The words left Harvey’s mouth as naturally as exhaled air.

Mike hesitated. He had a lot of work to do.

“I’ll buy you the most expensive burger in town.”

Then, Harvey remembered tip #1. “I mean, you’ll look gorgeous if you have burgers in you.”

“What?” Mike had never heard such a weird compliment in his life.

“Ah, of course you already look absolutely gorgeous but adding a few burgers would make your cheeks look more adorable and…” Harvey closed his mouth with the hand that wasn’t holding a pen. He was being impossible.

Outside the office, Donna was trying her best to muffle her laughter. It wouldn’t look good for Harvey if she, the fine secretary of the best senior partner in the firm, giggled her brains out.

‘Oh lord, what did I do to deserve such a treat? I could print out hundreds of love guidebooks if that’s what got me dying out here.’

She had trouble to believe that Harvey was failing so miserably at asking Mike out for dinner. The Harvey that everyone knew had no problem whatsoever wooing clients. He got eccentric clients every once in a while, but Harvey handled them as well as it was humanly possible.

‘Oh my, I’ll need more eye cream tonight. I’ve laughed too much.’

She checked the contour of her eyes in her hand mirror and watched Mike walk out of the office.

“So should I make a dinner reservation?” She asked sweetly. The puppy looked a little puzzled.

“Uh, yeah, we’re getting burgers, I think.”

“You think?”

“He said some weird stuff but yeah.”

Mike shrugged and headed back to his cubicle. He would have to speed up work if he wanted to look gorgeous by having burgers in him.

 

“Mm, this burger’s great, Harvey! I’m so glad you brought me here!”

Mike smiled so brightly that Harvey had to drop his burger on his plate to grab his flipping heart.

“Problem, Harvey? Don’t tell me you can’t digest these wonderful burgers. That would be a real shame.” Mike said as he took another bite with those lovely, lovely lips.

“I’m fine. You want another one?”

“Haha, no thanks. I’m almost full. I’ll just finish the fries if you don’t mind.”

“Knock yourself out.”

“Thanks.” Mike smiled again and Harvey felt light-headed.

“You know, you should give me some kind of a warning before smiling like that.” Harvey wanted to shoot himself in the mouth but the words had already left his mouth.

“Why would you need a warning?”

“Because I don’t want to pass out due to lack of oxygen.”

Mike looked amused. “Are you trying to say that I have a nice smile?”

Harvey wished Mike wouldn’t ask such obvious questions. It was a waste of time and words. “Yes, I am.”

Mike laughed. He liked this side of Harvey. From what he gathered, he was the only one who got to fully enjoy this aspect of him. It made him feel special and privileged.

“You’re so sweet, Harvey. You know that? I always knew you had a big heart locked up and guarded. I’m glad you finally decided to give your heart the freedom that it deserves.” Mike’s smile was warm.

“What did I tell you about warning me?” Harvey’s tone was gentle.

Mike giggled. “I think most people would like to see their dates smile, Harvey.”

“I never said you shouldn’t smile. I just said I’d like a warning first. And, haven’t you noticed? I’m not like most people.”

“Well, that’s true. I knew that the moment we met. Most people would’ve reported me straight to the police without asking me what was going on. You have no idea how much I appreciate that.”

“Actually, it wasn’t for your own good. I needed to find an associate and there were only Harvard douche bags that day.”

“But we had only shook hands before I spilled weed all over the floor. You couldn’t have possibly thought that I might be useful.”

“Donna winked at me right before you came in, so I already knew that you were different. I just had to listen to your story before deciding anything.”

Mike started to smile again but then he realized what he was doing. “Oh! I’m going to smile now! Brace yourself!”

They both burst into laughter at Mike actually warning him.

“I love your laughter lines, Harvey. You should smile more often.” Mike reached out and touched the lines around Harvey’s left eye.

“Donna usually scolds me for adding wrinkles.” Harvey said good-heartedly.

“I’m sure she doesn’t mean it.”

“I think she means it. She got me eye cream for my last birthday.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, she even showed me how to apply it properly. I’ve never rolled my eyes so much in five minutes.”

Mike loved listening to little memories of Harvey and Donna before he came into the picture. “What else did she give you for your birthday? She’s worked for you for seven years, right?”

“You want to know?”

“Well, that’s why I asked.”

“If you want answers, you’ll have to go out with me.” Harvey said as he remembered tip #2 from his guidebook: _You can’t just feed him every night. Find something that both of you will enjoy._

“Am I not already out with you?” Mike gestured at the whole restaurant.

“One date for one answer. What do you say?” Harvey always felt comfortable making deals.

“So I have to go out with you six times to find out what else Donna gave you for your birthdays.”

“Exactly.”

Harvey knew that Mike could just call Donna and ask, but he also knew that Mike would like to play this game if he really was another him. And, by the way, who wouldn’t want to spend time with him?

“Deal.” Mike made his decision.

“Good. We should shake hands to finalize the deal.” Harvey offered. He just liked to do things right.

“You know, in ‘Supernatural’, they always close a deal by kissing a demon.”

“Are you calling me a demon?”

“Haha, I don’t exactly see you as an angel.” Mike stuck out his tongue.

“Get that tongue in my mouth already then.”

Harvey tried to forget about the cheesy lines and thoughts that had haunted him all evening and leaned in for a kiss.  



	6. Joyful Saturdays

  
**Date #1: The aquarium**

“Whoa! Is that a killer whale?”

Harvey chuckled as Mike ran towards the giant tank, excited like a kid. Harvey only cared about fish that made it to his plate but Mike apparently liked them alive.

“Oh my god, Harvey. You have to take a picture of me and her together.”

“How do you know it’s a ‘she’?”

Mike clicked his tongue. “How can you not know it’s a ‘she’? Look at her! She’s pretty!”

“Not as pretty as you.”

Harvey was convinced that death by a killer whale would be much less embarrassing than spouting such terrible lines.

“Aww, don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re in loooove with me. It’s normal to lose control of yourself every once in a while.” Mike cackled.

“I think it’s happening much more often than every once in a while.” Harvey sighed as he checked the pictures that he had taken for Mike. In some of the pictures, it was nearly impossible to tell if Mike was in an aquarium; there were only zoomed in faces of his.

“Wow, you’re a real beauty, aren’t you?”

Harvey looked up from his digital camera and saw Mike pressed up against the tank, talking to the whale. He seemed to be enthralled by the whale’s size and movement.

‘When he moves in, we’ll have to get a fish tank.’ Harvey thought before freaking out at such a domestic idea.

‘What am I turning into?’ He groaned and took some pictures of Mike and whichever parts of the enormous whale that would fit in the frame.

“Hey, we should hit the gift shop now.” Mike suggested with delight.

“Sure. Lead the way.”

Harvey was glad that Mike was having a good time. The happiness coming off of Mike was strong enough to dye him happy. He took Mike’s hand in his as he listened to all the random facts that Mike knew about fish. Harvey paid attention to his words, not because he was interested in fish but because he found Mike’s enthusiasm endearing.

“What’s your favorite fish?” Harvey was curious.

“Dory.” Mike answered immediately.

“Dory?” Harvey asked back. If his memory served him right, that was the name of the blue tang in ‘Finding Nemo.’ “But she’s awfully forgetful. Nothing like you.”

“Exactly. Oblivion can be a gift, Harvey.” Mike’s smile was a little bitter.

Harvey tightened his grip on Mike’s hand. He could imagine just how many people must have wanted to take advantage of Mike’s brilliant memory before he ran into his life. It probably didn’t help that Mike’s parents had died when he was a child. The only protection he would have had against the selfish, greedy people was one old woman.

“It’s okay.” Mike moved his thumb soothingly against Harvey’s. “Now I work where my memory is appreciated in the right way. Plus, I got a chance to work with you thanks to my memory.”

“Mike, I didn’t hire you just because of your memory. Let’s be clear on that.”

“Really?” Mike was genuinely surprised.

“You showed me a lot of qualities that could be useful to a lawyer. You thought fast under a lot of pressure when you decided to hide in the interview room. You showed courage when you told me and Donna what you were really doing there. You also had enough self-belief to convince me that you could do well as my associate. So make no mistake, Mike, we don’t pay you just for your memory. You’re much more valuable than that, both to the firm and to me.”

When Harvey was finished, there was a new light in Mike’s eyes. Harvey quickly pulled his associate into a corner so that nobody else would get a glimpse of those beautiful eyes.

“Have I ever told you you’re the best boss I’ve had?” Mike leaned against the wall.

Harvey smiled. “Are you pretending to be Dory? Or do you want me to play that part? Of course I remember.”

Mike grabbed the front of Harvey’s dark grey shirt and pulled. “Well, then it’s time for me to tell you that you’re on your way to become the best boyfriend I’ve ever had.”

“What did I do?” Harvey asked as he put an arm around Mike’s waist.

Mike pulled Harvey closer and whispered in his ear, “You took me to one of the biggest aquariums in the country and kissed me in a romantic corner.”

Harvey took that as a cue to lean in and sweep Mike off his feet. Later, he would buy Mike a Dory pillowcase which would help him forget about all the bad things that had happened during the day.

 

 **Date #2: Amusement park**

“You’ve never been to an amusement park.” Harvey repeated Mike’s words to check if he had understood it right.

“I know.” Mike sighed. “That’s why I’m warning you. I might want to go on childish rides because I never had a chance when I was a kid.”

“That’s fine. You can be all childlike while I get a cup of coffee or something.” Harvey thought that Mike probably didn’t get a chance because his grandmother wouldn’t have been able to keep up with a boy running everywhere.

“But I want you to be on the rides with me.” Mike looked at the map, trying to figure out which ride he should try first.

“Oh… Sorry, Mike. I’m not planning to ride anything today.”

“What? Then why did you get the same ‘all-day pass’ as mine?” Mike pointed at Harvey’s plastic wristband.

“I like purple.” Harvey shrugged. There was no way in hell that he would tell Mike that he wanted to wear matching wristbands with him.

“Well, purple is a decent color.” Mike said even though he wasn’t sure if that was a good enough reason to pay more money for. Then, an idea suddenly struck him. “Harvey, why aren’t you planning to go on any rides today? It can’t possibly be because you’re afraid, right?”

“I’m obviously not afraid. It’s just not my thing.” Harvey remained composed.

Mike nodded but Harvey could tell that he was scheming to get him on one of the scary rides.

“You look lovely today.” Harvey attempted, knowing that it would slow down Mike’s thought process.

“Thanks, Harvey. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Mike took Harvey’s hand and intertwined their fingers. He had always wanted to come to one of these silly amusement parks with someone he loved. The atmosphere was different to the busy, grey city; everyone looked relaxed and happy here.

“Let’s start with the teacups and move on to the pirate ship. What do you think?”

“Mike, I told you. I don’t enjoy these rides. But feel free to have fun without me. I’ll fetch a cup of coffee and wait on a bench somewhere.”

“No, Harvey. You’re coming with me.”

“But…”

Mike shushed Harvey and used his lowest voice. “If you behave, you might get lucky tonight.”

Harvey’s mouth closed in no time. Perhaps his wet dreams would finally come to an end tonight.

“Great. The teacups are that way.” Mike checked his map and dragged Harvey with a spring in his steps.

 

“Miiike!!” Harvey’s knuckles went white as the pirate ship swung again.

“Ahahaha…” Mike knew that it was rude to laugh at a frightened person but he simply couldn’t help it. Even young teenagers were having fun without abusing the safety bar.

“I’m going to kill yoooou!”

Harvey’s terrified threats only made Mike laugh harder. In fact, his stomach hurt every time Harvey threatened him. It wasn’t the scariest ride in the park but apparently, Harvey didn’t do well in a rocking ship.

“I’m sorry, Harvey! I’ll make it up to you!” He let the wind carry his message and put his hand on Harvey’s. The threats stopped and Mike loved that he could have a soothing effect on the man.

As Harvey grew calmer, Mike explained to him that the ship was just a giant swing and kept caressing his hand. It felt nice to be on the helping end for once.

“You’re buying me coffee.” Harvey announced as soon as they got off the ride.

“Fair enough. We can drink it on the Ferris wheel. Or are you afraid of that too?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s slow.” Harvey answered defensively.

Mike found it cute that Harvey was afraid of something, but he was on a date and he didn’t want to ruin it by bruising Harvey’s ego.

Half an hour later, the couple was on the Ferris wheel, sitting next to each other, sipping coffee with each a headband on his head. Mike had to promise to let Harvey relive his wet dreams with him in order to get a Goofy headband on that perfect hair.

“I think I may have the wrong job, Harvey.” Mike confessed.

“You want to work as Mickey Mouse? Well, Mikey the Mickey has a nice rhyme to it.”

“Yeah. But then you’ll have to be Minnie Mouse and I don’t think you’d like a ribbon on your head.”

“Damn right. No amount of filthy promises will make me wear a ribbon.”

Mike laughed and dropped a kiss on Harvey’s cheek, wondering if Mickey ever had a thing for Goofy.

 

 **Date #3: baseball game**

This time, they were doing something that Harvey could truly enjoy. They were sitting in one of the best seats in the stadium, watching a baseball game. Mike was absorbing nachos, offering Harvey some out of courtesy every once in a while.

“No thanks, Mike. You can have them all.”

Mike beamed and Harvey never felt the virtue of concession so rewarding. Mike was wearing a jersey of his favorite baseball team and a baseball cap, making it obvious that he was a huge baseball fan. Harvey decided that he should make Mike keep the jersey on in bed tonight.

“Harvey, shouldn’t you be watching the game rather than me?” Mike asked even though he didn’t mind the attention.

“I’m watching your cap, not you. It’s a very nice cap.” Harvey took off the cap from Mike’s head and put it backwards. It made the kid look even cuter and Harvey couldn’t resist planting a small kiss on the corner of his mouth.

Ever since he had started to sleep with Mike, Harvey seemed to have better control over his tongue. His mind still came up with horrendously mushy pick-up lines but he could swallow most of them before it became too embarrassing. The desire to be close to Mike and the urge to touch him were still there but the short kisses in the office, the daily dinners with him, and the dates on Saturdays made things quite manageable.

 _Bleep._

Harvey pulled out his phone from his jeans pocket and saw that his mentor had sent him a text message: _How’s the wooing going, Harvey?_

Ray apparently took great pleasure in keep using the word ‘wooing’, knowing that Harvey cringed whenever he saw it.

 _It’s going fine. He’s enjoying the game._

He couldn’t think of anything else to report. He had things under control; Mike was well fed and well hydrated and had a satisfied look on his face.

 _Well, try to keep your hands to yourself. Groping in public isn’t polite._

‘As if I don’t know such things.’ Harvey rolled his eyes and was about to tell Ray just that when Mike’s voice caught his attention.

“Harvey, look! That’s us!” Mike pointed at the big screen. The kiss cam had caught Mike and him in the pink heart.

“We’re not going to do such juvenile things.” Harvey wasn’t going to let Mike get hurt by the jeers coming from homophobes. He was certain that there would be quite a few in a stadium this big.

“We’re not?”

Mike looked a little disappointed while Harvey waited patiently for the camera man to find another couple. But the big screen kept showing the two of them and people were yelling at them to kiss already.

“Uh, Harvey?” Mike looked at Harvey with hope in his eyes.

‘For Christ’s sake.’ Harvey muttered under his breath and kissed his boyfriend, hands cupped over his ears to keep him unharmed.

“That was nice.” Mike said after the camera had finally moved on.

“You think?” Harvey was relieved that Mike didn’t seem to have heard anything bad.

Mike nodded and put on his cap properly. He noticed how Harvey didn’t appreciate the gesture and whispered with a chuckle, “If you turn it backwards, I’ll take it as a sign that you want to kiss me. I suppose it’s easier to kiss without the brim getting in the way.”

Harvey slung an arm around Mike’s shoulder and grinned. “Then I’m afraid you’ll have to keep it backwards for the rest of the game.”

Mike laughed. “But I probably taste like nachos.”

Harvey shrugged. “I like nachos.”

Mike smiled and briefly pressed his lips against Harvey’s. Saturday was now his favorite day of the week for an entirely different reason.  



	7. Naughty Saturdays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, this is the last old(?) chapter I have. I need one more chapter to close out the story and I'm thinking about writing an epilogue if anyone's interested. Oh, and mega fluff alert for date #6 :D

  
**Date #4: clothing store**

This week, Harvey had brought Mike to a posh clothing store. He didn’t want Mike to feel out of his element too much so he had chosen the least intimidating one that he knew.

“I’m telling you, Harvey. I never really get many chances to go out in something other than suits. Besides, I just know you’re not going to let me pay.”

Mike tried to talk Harvey out of the expensive shopping trip. He was currently sitting in the passenger’s seat in the Volvo that Harvey was driving; the fact that he got to see Harvey driving with his sleeves rolled up was a good enough treat for him.

“Mike, this is for my own good.”

“And, why is that?”

“We go out every Saturday and I’d like to see you in something nicer. No offense. You look adorable in less expensive clothes too but I think you could look even better.”

Mike was about to say something incredibly logical and smart but he got distracted when Harvey shifted gears, looking as professional and sexy as a F1 driver.

“That’s smoking hot.” He declared.

“What’s hot?” Harvey kept his eyes on the road.

“You shifting gears. Oh, I also loved it when you backed the car earlier. Your neck was nicely stretched while you checked the back.”

Harvey laughed lightly. “I should drive you around more often then.”

“Definitely. There’s nothing sexier than a man who knows how to drive with elegance. Can I open the windows a bit? It’s a little hot in here.”

“Sure.” Harvey wanted to ask Mike if he was all hot for him, but he didn’t want to risk getting into an accident because he liked Mike’s answer too much.

 

They were now inside the store with Mike gasping at the price tags and Harvey selecting clothes that would look good on his Mike. A clerk had offered to help but Harvey preferred to explore the store with Mike alone.

“Hey, try these. Take these too. And these.” Harvey ended up handing over six pairs of jeans. Mike had a physique of a mannequin; Harvey felt like he would look great in almost anything.

“Harvey, it says that I can’t take more than five into the fitting room.”

“Oh, I’ll hang on to these then.”

Mike nodded and headed towards the fitting room. There were only two people waiting in line.

“Where are you going?” Harvey asked.

“I need to try these on before I buy anything.”

“Well, the VIP fitting room is that way.” Harvey pointed at the other side of the store.

“They have separate fitting rooms? And, you’re a VIP?”

“Of course I’m a VIP, and VIPs are busy people. We never like to wait.”

Harvey pointed him to the right direction and picked a few jackets that would keep his boyfriend warm. It was getting chilly and as much as he would love to keep him warm with his own body heat, he knew that he couldn’t do that all the time.

“Harvey? Can you come in and take a look for me?”

Mike’s head poked out of the fitting room and Harvey gladly strolled in, leaving everything he had in his hands in a nearby basket. He wolf-whistled at Mike wearing dark grey jeans. They were tight in all the right places and Mike simply looked delicious.

“Very nice, Mike. I could eat you alive with those jeans on.”

“Haha, thanks. Do you think they’re too tight?” Mike asked, checking himself in the mirror.

“Let me take a closer look.” Harvey placed himself behind Mike, put his left arm around Mike’s waist and shoved his right hand into the back of the jeans.

“Harvey!” Mike squeaked.

“What? You asked me if they were too tight. I’m checking if there’s enough space for your own comfort.”

“Well, while I appreciate your thoroughness, I really don’t think it’s necessary to move your hand… around like that...” Mike could feel himself enjoying Harvey’s touch a little too much. The fact that he could see Harvey’s wolfish grin through the mirror didn’t help at all.

“You can make pretty noises, you know. This room is soundproof. There’s a reason why there’s a door instead of a curtain.”

“And, how do you know that?” Mike narrowed his eyes at Harvey in the mirror. “Oh my god, you came here with someone else and did some really naughty stuff!”

Harvey didn’t bother to deny the accusation; he rather focused his energy on moving his hand to the front of the jeans.

“Geez, Harvey. You can’t do that!” Mike arched his back and thrust his hips forward.

“Don’t tell me about the things I can’t do, Mike.” Harvey kept his mouth close to Mike’s ear but made sure that his lips didn’t touch the ear. “I’d rather hear about the things you’d let me do. So how about this?”

Harvey moved his hand in a way that made Mike close his eyes in pleasure. They had only slept together a few times but Harvey already knew his body so well.

“You liked that? Then how about this?”

With Harvey’s breath tickling his left ear and his hand dirty-dancing inside his jeans, Mike knew that it was only a matter of time that he messed up the jeans.

“You open your eyes and stop biting your lips or I’ll stop, Mike.”

Mike’s eyes shot open. “What?! You can’t stop now!”

Harvey let out a husky chuckle at Mike’s desperate protest. “Then make some noise. You know how I want to hear everything.”

“Harvey, I’m having trouble even standing still, let alone make a noise!”

Harvey started to pull his hand out.

“Okay, okay!! You win, you kinky bastard!”

Harvey ignored the insult and carried on with his mission. Much to his delight, Mike had understood him well; he moaned and groaned shamelessly all the while locking eyes with him through the mirror.

‘Christ, it looks like I’ll have to buy a new pair of jeans as well.’ Harvey pressed himself harder against Mike and it didn’t take long for them to moan each other’s name.

“Harvey…” Mike’s knees gave out and Harvey guided him to the chair.

“Great. Now we’ll have to buy these.” Mike swatted Harvey’s hand that was fondling his thigh.

“We were going to buy them anyway. They look fantastic on you.”

“Thanks. Are you sure you don’t want me to pay?” Mike caressed Harvey’s arm. He loved Harvey’s arms; they were strong and determined and made him feel safe when they were wrapped around him.

“I’m sure, Mike. I’ve got this.” He dropped a kiss on Mike’s temple.

He knew that his guidebook said ‘Expensive gifts can be a burden at first’ but since he didn’t consider the state of their relationship to be near ‘at first’, he was confident that he was making the right move.

“Then we’re buying only these.” Mike pointed at the jeans that he was wearing.

“Nope, we’re going to buy as many as I please. And, since you’re so adamant about not owing me, I can share my ideas about how you can pay me back.”

Judging by Harvey’s tone, Mike could tell that those ideas involved him moaning and groaning all over Harvey’s place.

“I think I’m falling for you.”

Harvey’s eyes widened at the sudden confession. He hadn’t expected Mike to say such a thing, especially not in a fitting room when they were in a sticky mess.

“My hand was that good?”

Mike laughed. “It’s just… I really like being around you. Whatever we get to do, time always flies! That only happens when you’re spending time with someone you like, right? Besides, I like it when I see that you’ve texted me. I like when I hear your voice and turn around to meet your eyes. I also like it when I call your name and you look at me with a twinkle in your eyes. If that’s not falling in love, I don’t know what is.”

Harvey thought that the confession was so very Mikish. It was simple, pure, and honest. He wanted to say something in return but he felt a lump in his throat. So he reached out and pulled Mike into his arms, peppering light kisses on his hair.

“Uh, Harvey, as much as I’d like you to keep kissing me, I really need to get out of these.” Mike looked down at his new jeans.

“Way to ruin the moment, Mike.” Harvey complained but he stood up and let Mike change back into his own jeans.

“I’ll go pick a nice pair of jeans for you so you can change too. And, I’ll be buying those!” Mike held up a finger, telling Harvey that the matter was not up for discussion.

“Fine, puppy. Go fetch me something wearable.”

Mike stole a quick kiss from Harvey before leaving the fitting room. He hadn’t planned to confess his love in a fitting room but he didn’t regret it. Harvey seemed touched by his words and that’s all he needed to remember.

 

 **Date #5: Romantic picnic**

“You know, Harvey, I’ve always had a thing for pilots.” Mike grinned as he sat next to Harvey in the small plane.

“Is that true?”

“Yes. Top Gun! Tom was so hot in there.”

“Ah, good to know you have great taste in movies.”

Mike chuckled. He just knew that Harvey was dying to add ‘unlike in ties’. He was always excited when he was on a date with Harvey but today he was outexciting himself. If Harvey driving a car was sexy, Harvey flying a plane was a wet dream coming true.

“Helmet, Mike.”

“Oh right.” Mike stopped staring at his personal pilot and put on the helmet.

“We’re flying south to get more sunshine.” Harvey started the engine and made sure that they had their seatbelts on.

“Cool! Anywhere in particular?”

“No, we’re going to land wherever we feel like landing.”

“Ooh, I like that. Adventure!”

Harvey checked if they had enough fuel for a round-trip. He didn’t want to land wherever their fuel supply would allow them. “Ready?”

“Yes, Captain.” Mike raised his hand in salute and the plane took off.

“When did you learn how to fly a plane?” Mike asked as he made sure that their picnic basket was safely tied up in the back.

“When I tried to impress a girl in law school.” Harvey chuckled.

“Really? And, how did that work out for you?” Mike was just curious, not jealous. There was no need to be jealous when Harvey had admitted that he loved him.

“Well, let’s just say that I wasn’t able to fly for a while without smelling thrown-up popcorn and vodka in a plane.”

“Eww, that’s awful. I’m sorry.” Mike didn’t feel sorry at all but he liked to be polite.

“Regarding that matter, I hope you don’t have motion sickness.”

“Haha, I’m strong, Harvey. What is motion sickness?”

Harvey laughed at Mike’s playful tone and pinched him on the cheek.

“So… care to have some grapes?” Mike retrieved the picnic basket from the back and opened it.

“I thought we were going to have a picnic when we land.”

“Yeah, that was the plan. But you look so hot in that pilot uniform that I now have other things in mind for when we land.”

Harvey felt like landing immediately but they were still flying over the city. He honestly didn’t mind landing on a rooftop but it didn’t seem like a romantic spot for Mike.

‘Jesus, am I even hearing myself? Romantic? Really?’ Harvey grumbled but when Mike fed him a grape with a pretty smile on his face, he found himself stomaching both the grape and the romance.

“What do you think? I think it’s all right.” Mike ate a few grapes himself.

“Delicious.” Harvey felt like he could eat almost anything as long as Mike fed him with those sensual fingers.

“Uh, Harvey, for our safety, I think you should keep your eyes on the sky.” Mike caught him staring at his fingers.

“Of course.” Harvey was a little embarrassed. He felt weak and emotionally vulnerable. He had better control over himself these days but it still felt like a long way to go.

“Aww, don’t feel bad about yourself. I actually like it better when you’re a little vulnerable.” Mike smiled. He was getting better at reading Harvey’s expressions.

“Nonsense. Nobody likes people who are vulnerable.”

“But it’s normal to be vulnerable at times!” Mike fed him a slice of tangerine. “Plus, when you’re vulnerable, I can protect you and make you feel better. I’d _love_ to protect you! You might not see it, but as I said, I’m strong, Harvey. You don’t have to be the stronger one all the time.”

Mike’s sincere words made Harvey grab his shoulder with one hand and pull him in for an urgent kiss. He had to kiss him right now really hard or he was going to fall apart. Mike kissed him back with matching urgency and both of them momentarily forgot that they were up in the air.

“Harvey!” As passionate as the kiss was, Mike had to pull back and warn him about the danger. The plane was heading downwards.

Harvey let go of Mike and took control of the plane again. “Perhaps this wasn’t a great idea after all. We’re too gorgeous to die young.”

Mike laughed. “I think this was a great idea! You know what they say. There’s nothing like a near-death experience to make people share a strong bond.”

“A near-death experience? Come on. It wasn’t that bad. I have amazing flying skills.”

“Whatever you say.” Mike chuckled and kissed Harvey on the corner of his mouth. He wasn’t sure about the flying skills but his boyfriend definitely had an amazing mouth.

 

 **Date #6: The open market fair**

So far, Mike had got five answers out of Harvey; one at the end of each date. Apart from the eye cream, Donna had given her boss: 1) a tie made by an Italian artisan who only sold to customers that he pleased, 2) a can opener which she and Harvey still used in the office for their pre-trial ritual, 3) a picture of Harvey, Ray, and her in a frame (she had made Louis take it for them), 4) A pack of ‘Do not ask’ cards which Harvey could use when he didn’t want Donna to ask him about something, 5) A pack of ‘Make Louis cry’ cards which Harvey hadn’t used yet just to annoy Donna.

This Saturday, they had come to an open market fair to look for kids’ toys. Every once in a while, Mike visited a bunch of kids at the nearby orphanage where Jenny worked as a volunteer. In three weeks’ time, it was Easter and Mike wanted to give the kids new toys. Apparently the kids were going to decorate their Easter eggs with Jenny, so Mike opted to visit them with toys, wearing a bunny costume.

“I can’t believe you’re willing to wear a bunny costume.” Harvey shook his head.

“Well, it’s for the kids!”

“But you’re a puppy, not a bunny.” Harvey pointed out. It was a big deal for him.

“Aww, don’t worry, Harvey. Underneath the costume, I’ll still be your puppy.” Mike smiled sweetly and earned a quick kiss.

“You know, you should come over for Easter. Grammy and I are going to have a big dinner at my place.” Mike suggested, linking arms with Harvey.

“It’s a family occasion, Mike. I’m not going to interrupt that.”

“Harvey, Grammy pretty much ordered you to kiss me, remember? Trust me, she’d love to have you around.”

Harvey did want to spend as much time with Mike as possible but he didn’t want to be out of line. “Tell you what. You ask her opinion and if she’s fine with it, I’ll come to your place, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Harvey. She’s going to love it.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

Both of them stopped dead in their tracks at Harvey’s last word but their reactions were completely different.

‘Oh, geez, this is going to be the death of me. Maybe I have hormone issues. Don’t pregnant women become awfully emotional because their hormone levels tend to skyrocket?’ Harvey moaned inwardly.

‘Oh my god, he called me a sweetheart!’ Mike squealed inwardly.

Mike wondered if Harvey was under some sort of a love spell. He could think of two people who could pull it off; Donna and his grandmother.

‘It’s probably Grammy. She has all the time in the world in that nursing home. Who knows what she does all day?’

Mike glanced at Harvey and saw that he looked utterly mortified. He took one of Harvey’s hands in his and started walking again. “Hey, I liked it. I like having a sweet boyfriend. You can call me anything you want. I promise I won’t laugh and enjoy it as much as I can.”

“I can hear you already giggling, Mike.” Harvey sighed and put their linked hands in his coat pocket. He didn’t want anyone to snatch his pretty Mike away.

“Haha, I’m only laughing because I find you cute!”

“I don’t do cute.”

“But it’s a good look on you! Look around! You’re by far the cutest guy around here!”

“So it’s all about the looks, hmm?”

“Well, it helps that you’re quite brainy and that you drive and fly like a movie star.” Then Mike leaned towards Harvey and whispered, “Oh, and you’re like a porn star in bed.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” The usual smug look was back on Harvey’s face and Mike thought about skipping the fair and jumping Harvey instead, but he really needed to buy some toys. He would hate to disappoint the kids more than anything.

“Oh, I think the girls would like these.” Mike pointed at the small music boxes that had the shape of a star.

So they proceeded to take a look at all sorts of stars, opening them one by one to listen to the music. Apparently, such music boxes came in all colors, sizes, and music.

“Wow, I never thought that there could be so many star-shaped music boxes!” Mike was surprised.

“Tell me about it.” Harvey was offended by the number of stars that were trying to outshine his associate.

“The girls probably won’t care too much about the music. So which one looks prettier? This one or this one?” Mike held up two stars in front of Harvey but all Harvey could see was Mike’s face in the middle. “Harvey?”

“Hmm?”

“Which one?”

Harvey frowned at the two stars. “Shouldn’t they look shinier?”

“But these are literally glittering, Harvey.”

Harvey shrugged. “I don’t know. You’re the only shiny thing around here, babe.”

While Harvey had the ‘Oops, I did it again!’ look on his face, Mike leaned in for a kiss, praying that the love spell wouldn’t be broken for a while. After a while, he was confident that Harvey would love him whether he was under a spell or not.

“Oops!”

During the kiss, Mike accidentally dropped one of the music boxes on the ground and the selling lady gave him a mean look. “Uh, we’ll have to buy that one.”

“Yeah, it looks like the fates have spoken.”

Mike cackled and picked up the music box. He didn’t want the girls to fight over music boxes so he figured that he could buy them with the same size and shape but with different colors and music. “Do you have eight of this model?”

The lady now gave him a warm look as she went to fetch the music boxes from one of the boxes.

“What are you going to get for the boys?” Harvey asked while waiting for the lady to return.

“I was thinking robots.”

Harvey nodded. “Good idea.”

Then he got a good idea of his own. “I think you should let me buy you a toy too.”

Mike laughed. “I know you call me a kid, Harvey, but I’m not a real kid.”

“I know that. But I think you should remember that there are many types of toys.”

Mike almost dropped his wallet as he realized what Harvey was implying. “Harvey! We’re at an open market fair!”

“So what?” Harvey tried his best to bite back his smile. Mike looked prettily flustered.

“What do you mean so what? They don’t sell those things here!”

“How do you know? Have you looked around?”

“I just know!”

“So if they sold them, would you let me buy you one?”

“What?! Why are we even discussing this? They don’t sell them here, okay?”

“Okay.” Harvey nodded with a satisfied smile. Mike’s response gave him a lot of good ideas and he couldn’t wait to try out each and every one of them.

“Let’s get the robots and go to my place. We’ve seen enough here.” Mike let Harvey hold on to the bag of music boxes and headed quickly to the robot corner.

Harvey chuckled as he noticed how pink Mike’s ears had become. It didn’t take him even a second to agree with Mike’s plan; he wasn’t crazy about open market fairs but he was crazy about Mike. The sooner they arrived at Mike’s place, the sooner he could whisper in those pink ears just how many different ways he could use to love him if Mike ever let him buy him a toy.  



	8. A new chapter in life

On Monday morning, Harvey felt like he had never been so glad to see Ray’s face as he came to pick him up for work.

“Good morning, boss. You seem anxious.” Having worked for the man for many years, Ray could tell his boss’ mood just by the way Harvey opened the door of the town car.

“Good morning, Ray. It’s just that our six Saturday dates are over.”

“So? Ask him out again. That was only the beginning of many wonderful dates to come.” Ray started the car and headed out to the street.

“But I feel like I’m using up all of his free time. We have dinner together almost every night. He should have some time for himself, don’t you think?”

“Aww, Harvey, you’re such a considerate boyfriend.”

Harvey still winced at the word ‘boyfriend’ but it meant that Mike belonged to him so he was trying to get used to it.

“What should I do, Ray? I keep up with the Saturday dates and cut out some of the everyday dinners? Or should I do the opposite?” Harvey trusted his mentor. So far, Ray had given him solid advice and Mike seemed to be quite happy.

Ray smiled as he made a right turn. “I think you should discuss it with Mike, boss. You don’t need my help anymore. Tell him what you just told me and I assure you that he’ll be delighted to talk about it.”

“Are you pushing me out of the nest?” Harvey laughed.

“It’s more like letting you out of the cage, Harvey. Everybody’s love has a unique shape. I think it’s time for you to find your own shape.”

“Where did you learn how to say things like that?”

“I read tons of books on love to impress Helen and I had an epiphany. Now I’m the master of love.” Ray chuckled lightly and Harvey couldn’t help but chuckle along.

 

 _Knock-knock._

“Harvey, I’m done with these.” Mike waltzed into the office with two files in his hand.

“Oh, you’ve finally learned how to knock.” Harvey let out a dramatic sigh of relief.

“Well, I didn’t think you would’ve heard my footsteps because you were daydreaming about me.” Mike grinned.

“Cute. Now hand them over and nobody gets hurt.” Harvey held out his hand for the files.

Mike looked at the hallway and saw that only Donna was watching so he grabbed Harvey’s hand and planted a kiss on his palm. Harvey had been unbelievably sweet to him and he wanted to be the same for him.

“Files, Mike?”

“Did you just blush a little?” Mike giggled.

“Absolutely not. Why would I blush over something as sweet as a peck on the hand when I haven’t blushed over all the dirty things we’ve done last weekend?”

Now it was Mike’s turn to blush. He had never spent a hotter weekend in his life and he had to thank Harvey for that.

Harvey wore a satisfied smile as he reminisced about his weekend. It seemed that his theory was right; the more times he made love to Mike, the better control he had over his hands and mouth. It now felt less confusing and more pleasant to love Mike. He didn’t feel weird in his body anymore and he could still be himself while enjoying Mike’s presence.

“See? Daydreaming about me again.” Mike smiled and put the files in Harvey’s hand. “By the way, you forgot to tell me what Donna gave you for your birthday last year.”

“No, I didn’t forget. I just didn’t get a chance to tell you because my mouth was on you for the whole weekend.” Harvey opened one of the files and checked Mike’s work, listening to Mike giggle.

Mike realized that he giggled so often these days. And, when he did, Harvey looked at him with so much fondness in his eyes that he wanted to giggle some more.

“So what was it?” Mike leaned forward in his chair to rest his arms on the edge of Harvey’s desk. He was ready to listen to yet another memory that Donna and Harvey shared.

“See for yourself. It’s in the top drawer.” Harvey told him as he moved onto the second file.

“Ooh, great.” Mike got up and walked over to Harvey’s side of the desk. After purposely brushing his arm against Harvey’s, he opened the drawer and searched for what could be a gift.

“Don’t make a mess.” Harvey warned light-heartedly.

“Haven’t you seen my desk, Harvey? I’m super neat!”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. My love jumps out the window every time you lie.”

Mike laughed and soon found a small box that looked like a watch box. He opened it and much to his surprise, he found a card that was the size of a business card that read ‘Make him mine.’

‘Oh my god! So he really is under a love spell! It wasn’t Grammy after all! Donna’s the one who put the spell on him!’

Everything clicked inside Mike’s head and he realized that he was now even more afraid of the red-haired secretary. Her spells must have been very powerful to have worked so well.

“Mike? Why do you look so terrified? It was just a joke. She can’t really make someone mine. She’s not the God of Love or anything.” Harvey pulled down his associate onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist. Nothing could be more comforting than having an armful of Mike.

“Oh, Harvey, no need to be embarrassed.” Mike thought that Harvey had used the card but was too embarrassed to admit it. “And, I don’t think you fully understand what that woman is capable of.”

Mike suspected that Harvey didn’t know about Donna’s ability to put powerful spells on a person. Even if he did, he probably thought the spell had worked on Mike, not on himself, because that was how love spells usually worked. But Mike hadn’t felt anything different while Harvey had clearly been acting strangely since mid-February. Besides, Harvey was the one who had gone to see a doctor and Mike had suspected Harvey being under a love spell when he had called him sweetheart.

‘It was just a silly thought. I never thought that it would be the truth. Oh well, perhaps it’s better if he doesn’t know. I don’t want Donna to get in trouble for messing with his mind.’

Mike cupped Harvey’s cheek and started to kiss him.

‘I should thank Donna on my way out.’ He made up his mind as he closed his eyes and let the thrill of kissing Harvey in his office take over him.

 

 _In Heaven…_

Cupid had been watching the boys on his computer monitor with a satisfied smile on his face. He was pleased that his target seemed to have stopped resisting the power of his arrows and was actually enjoying being in love.

‘Good. Everything’s in order now. I’ll get to enjoy yet another perfect record this year, mwahaha!’

Pleased with the results, he decided to tune into Mike’s thoughts just to check if he was as happily in love as his target.

‘Ah, if I were a couple hundred years younger, I would’ve totally looked like Specter.’ He thought as he listened to Mike thinking about how gorgeous Harvey looked in his elegant three-piece suit.

He was just about to tune out and give the pretty boy some privacy when he heard about the love spell. ‘What? What in heaven is he thinking about? Why is the redhead taking all the credit? _I_ did all the work! There are no such things as love spells, boy! It’s always me and my pretty arrows!’

Then he saw Mike leaning against the redhead’s desk and smiling sweetly at her. ‘Great! She gets both the recognition and the reward.’

Narrowing his eyes at the secretary on his screen, Cupid quickly opened a new window to file out a form. He was going to ask for more funds to increase the public awareness of himself.

 

Three weeks had passed and Easter had come. Harvey and Mike had fallen into a comfortable dating schedule, maintaining the right balance between spending time together and having some alone time. Harvey had stopped asking for Ray’s help and was managing to keep both Mike and himself happy on his own.

He had promised Mike to come by for the big Easter dinner at his place but here he was, standing inside an orphanage, several hours early for dinner.

‘For the record, I’m not here because I’m incapable of staying away from him. I’m here because I want to show him that I’m capable of supporting a good cause.’ Harvey told himself as he looked for Mike and Jenny.

To Harvey’s defense, he had made a generous donation to the orphanage right before stepping inside the room. And, if he felt a little joy at spotting his boyfriend in a bunny costume, then well, he would say that he appreciated a nice reward for his good deeds. Harvey knew that Mike should look absolutely ridiculous in a bunny costume while he read the kids a storybook but the truth was that he looked ridiculously adorable.

‘Ah, the doctor was right. I’m incurable.’ Letting out a dramatic sigh, Harvey saw one of the boys stand up and leave the group. The boy spotted him and walked up to him with a curious face.

“Hey, kid. You don’t like fairytales?” He asked the boy with dark hair and blue eyes. He couldn’t be older than seven years old.

The kid shook his head. “They’re a bunch of pretty lies.”

Harvey wondered if it would be too early to mentor a kid into a lawyer. Perhaps one day, he and Mike could adopt a kid and mentor the hell out of him. ‘What am I thinking? Enough with such domestic ideas already!’

“Are you okay?” The kid asked with worry evident in his blue eyes and Harvey couldn’t help but think of Mike.

‘These blue-eyed creatures are going to destroy my life.’ He groaned as he nodded.

“Are you here for an Easter egg?” The boy asked, pointing at the prettily decorated eggs sitting in a basket on the nearby table.

“No, I’m here to see the bunny.” Harvey pointed at Mike.

“Ooh, you’re the boyfriend he talked about.”

“He talked about me?” Harvey felt a smug smile jump on his lips.

“Yeah, he said you were hopelessly in love with him.”

Harvey made a face.

“Don’t worry. He loves you back.”

Harvey raised an eyebrow. How could a boy this young possibly know anything about manly love? “How can you tell, kid?”

“Because he said that we should all grow up and be like you. Help people who can’t help themselves.”

“He said that?” Harvey was touched. He was moved whenever Mike showed him an overwhelming amount of respect.

The kid snapped. “Are you questioning my memory?”

Harvey laughed. “I wouldn’t dare, boy. But that only proves that he respects me a lot. Respect and love are two very different things, kid.” He didn’t even know why he was having such a conversation with a kid.

“Well, Mandy asked him if you kissed him every day and he turned pink. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is!” The boy threw his arms in the air.

‘Ah, so dramatic.’ Harvey noted. “You’re sure your last name isn’t Ross?”

The boy shook his head and Harvey could see pain in his eyes. He probably had a random last name made up in the orphanage.

“Hey, smarty pants, why don’t we go see if the story’s almost finished?”

The kid nodded and searched for Harvey’s hand. Harvey let him take his hand and soon felt the small hand grip his fingers. Harvey had no idea how the kid ended up in an orphanage but if he had been abandoned, he wanted to find those scumbags who left him here and have a nice, long chat with them.

“Harvey! I didn’t expect to see you here.” Mike excused himself, leaving the kids with Jenny.

“Well, apparently I’m hopelessly in love with you.” Harvey heard the kid chuckle.

Mike smiled. “A little bird must have told you that.”

The kid let go of Harvey’s hand and gestured at Mike to bend down. Harvey watched as the boy whispered something into Mike’s ear.

“What are you kids talking about? You two have a secret or something?”

The boy giggled and that was when Harvey realized that it was time to leave. He didn’t make a habit of getting attached to people whom he couldn’t be responsible of. For now, one pair of blue eyes was enough in his life.

“I just came by to support you, Mike. See you later at dinner.” He turned around without saying goodbye to the kid. It was for his own good.

Mike felt the change in Harvey’s attitude and wondered what had happened. He was about to catch up with him and ask about it when the boy ran to Harvey and wrapped himself around Harvey’s right leg.

“Jamie, let the gentleman go.” Jenny hurried to the kid and gently rubbed his back.

“I don’t want to.” The kid was stubborn and Harvey didn’t have the heart to shrug him off.

“Jamie, we’ve talked about this.” It broke Jenny’s heart to go through this with kids. The children were so desperate to be loved.

The boy shook his head firmly and Mike felt himself tearing up. If his grandmother hadn’t been there for him, he could have easily ended up like the boy.

Harvey bent down and held up the boy in his arms. “I’m too good looking to let go, huh?” He kept his tone light. The last thing he wanted was to see those blue eyes filled with tears.

The boy wrapped his small arms around Harvey’s neck and hid his face in Harvey’s shoulder. Harvey looked at Mike and Jenny, having no clue how to deal with a heartbroken kid. Other kids had come to see what was going on and that was when things got worse.

“Who is he?” A little boy asked.

“Oh my god, is he your dad? He finally came to get you?” Another girl asked.

“Ooh, it must be his dad! They look the same!” Another kid shouted and things got out of control.

Kids yelled, clapped and jumped while Jenny and Mike tried to get them under control. Harvey decided that they needed help, so he left the room with the kid still in his arms and went to fetch the director.

“Okay, children. I have this special cookie jar with me. Those who come and stand in line here will get one of these special chocolate chip cookies!”

Much to Harvey’s surprise, the trick worked like magic. The boy gave him a peck on the cheek and rushed over to get his cookie.

“And, just like that, I’ve got beaten by a chocolate chip cookie.” Harvey spoke playfully as he and Mike hurried to an empty room before the kid noticed that they were gone.

Mike smiled but there were little tears in his eyes.

“Hey, come here.” Harvey took off the bunny hat from his boyfriend and gave him a warm hug. It hurt to see Mike sad like this.

“He said that this year he was going to ask Santa for you, Harvey. That’s what he whispered to me.” Mike’s voice broke as he swallowed the tears and Harvey had to hold him tighter.

‘Oh, great. I avoided one pair of teary blue eyes but I still have another pair in my arms.’ Harvey peppered kisses on top of Mike’s head, hoping that he would make the pain and sorrow go away.

Mike kept sniffing but he left Harvey’s arms and started to change into his regular clothes. “Harvey?”

“Hmm?” Harvey felt a little guilty at the turn of events. If he hadn’t showed up to see Mike, all of this could have been avoided.

“I know it might be inappropriate for me to ask, but have you ever thought of having kids?”

Harvey was surprised. Nobody asked him such things. Even though there were single people who adopted kids and lived happily ever after, people just assumed that he wouldn’t want any children because he didn’t like to commit to one man or woman.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Mike interpreted Harvey’s silence as a no.

“It’s fine, Mike. And, to answer your question, I actually thought about it earlier when that boy told me that fairytales were a bunch of pretty lies.”

Mike laughed as he put his bunny costume in a shopping bag. “That sounds like something you’d say.”

“Yeah, he definitely has potential to be a great lawyer. He already knows how to detect lies!”

Mike laughed again and couldn’t help but wonder if he and Harvey would ever get to have children. ‘What am I thinking? We don’t even live together yet. We’ve just started the relationship so let’s just focus on finding a way to love Harvey each and every day. No distractions.’

The two managed to sneak out of the orphanage but the face of a certain boy didn’t manage to leave their minds.

 

The dinner table had been filled with delicious food (Mike and his grandmother had cooked together), light banters, laughter, and Harvey stealing short kisses from Mike. Mike had invited Harvey, Donna, Ray and his girlfriend and had felt as if they were having a family dinner. It had been so heartwarming to have a nice, warm meal with the people that he loved. Donna had brought over some Easter eggs that her nephews had colored while Harvey had brought a good bottle of wine. Ray and his girlfriend had brought crème brulées for dessert which had thrilled everyone’s taste buds.

Everyone was having a good time but all good things had to come to an end.

“Oh, it’s eight already. How time flies.” Ray looked at his wristwatch. “Sorry, Helen and I have a movie to catch around nine.”

“It’s okay. The car will come and take Grammy back soon, so I’ll have to see her off anyway.” Mike smiled.

Everyone got up from the dinner table and started to say their goodbyes.

“Harvey, can you wait while I go see Grammy off downstairs? Or do you want to go back to your place and get some rest?” Mike asked, caressing Harvey’s arms.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I’d actually like to have a word with Donna here until you get back.”

“Sure.” Mike nodded and let his grandmother pinch everyone’s cheek before helping her out of the apartment.

“Harvey, what’s wrong?” Donna asked with a worried look on her face as she and Harvey settled down on the couch.

“I think it’s time to use one of those cards you gave me for my birthdays.”

Donna gasped. “Please tell me it’s the ‘Make Louis cry’ one! I’ve been dying to see you use it! See, I’ve prepared so many scenarios! The day has finally come!”

Harvey laughed. “I hate to disappoint you but that’s not the one.”

“Then you’re using the ‘Do not ask’ one.” She pouted.

“Nope.”

Donna’s eyes grew wide. “Oh my god, Harvey. Don’t tell me you’re planning to cheat on Mike! I’ll go work for Louis if you do! And, I’ll take Mike with me!”

Harvey shook his head at Donna’s insane deduction. He knew that she had had too much wine tonight. He also knew that it wasn’t her fault; his wine was always too good to resist. “Donna, I love Mike. Why would I want to cheat on him? Besides, why would you think I’d need your help to get someone?”

Donna frowned. “But the only card that’s left is the ‘Make him mine’ one. Oh, do you want a real puppy or something?”

Harvey took a deep breath. “No. I want you to look into a kid.”

Donna looked as if she was going to require immediate medical treatment. “What was in that dessert? I knew that it tasted too sweet.”

“Donna, I’m not saying that I’m going to adopt him. I just want to get his background checked before I bring it up to Mike.”

“Mike wants a boy?”

“Well, you know what he looked like all evening.”

Donna nodded. “I knew there was a reason why there was a sad puppy at the table.”

Harvey told her all about the little boy at the orphanage and how Mike had asked him afterwards if he had ever thought about having kids. After listening attentively, Donna had to agree that Mike had probably fallen in love with the kid.

“I don’t have to tell you that he cannot know about this. If there’s anything even remotely suspicious about the kid, you let me know and we’ll forget about this conversation.”

“Understood. No written documents or text messages. Any updates I have, I’ll whisper in your ears. You know that’s the safest method. Spies use that all the time.”

Harvey nodded. He had absolutely no doubt that Donna would be very discreet. “You know, I’m asking you to check him out but I actually hope there would be something wrong with him.”

Donna’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Why? I thought you liked him too.”

“I do, but… Look, I wouldn’t find it horrible to raise a kid with Mike, especially since I wouldn’t need to deal with diapers and endless crying with this one but Mike’s still so young. He has so much to live for. I want him to experience everything he wants to experience before even thinking about settling down.”

Donna smiled. “Harvey, can’t you see? If he already wants to have a kid with you, you’re everything he wishes to live for.”

Harvey needed a few seconds to get her words into his system. Could he really mean that much to someone one? To Mike?

“Hey, speaking of the ‘Make him mine’ card, I think Mike had one of his own. I wonder where he got one though. There are very few people who have problem-solving skills like me.” Donna changed the subject as she noticed that Harvey had started to think too much. In her opinion, Harvey usually thought too much and felt too little. She was glad to see that Mike had started to fix the imbalance.

“What do you mean? I can’t think of anyone else giving out such childish cards like you.” Harvey grinned.

“I’ll let that pass since it’s clearly the alcohol talking.” Donna snorted. “And, back to my point, I think he used such a card to get you, Harvey. We both know that you’ve been acting differently around Mike for the past couple of months.”

Harvey slapped his knee. “Ah, I knew that I was cursed. I was right.”

Donna laughed. “I think you were cursed before and Mike broke your curse.”

“I broke what? Harvey has a purse? How come I haven’t had the honor to see it yet?” Mike walked into the apartment.

Harvey and Donna laughed while Mike looked confused.

“What took you so long?” Harvey changed the subject. He didn’t need Mike to poke into things and build up false hope.

“Grammy always has so much to say when we part! Why couldn’t she say all that when we were having dinner?”

“Aww, she just loves you so much.” Donna pinched Mike’s nose with affection.

Mike smiled brightly and that was Donna’s cue to leave. She would be damned to stay and watch yet another kissing scene when she got to watch plenty of them at the office every single day.

“Don’t forget to use protection, boys! Or you might end up with a cute kid!” were the last words that she managed to say before Harvey aggressively walked her to the door.

“Ah, I wish we ended up with a cute kid.” Mike covered his mouth in horror and saw Harvey’s hands take an extra second to lock the door.

“What did you say?” Harvey asked softly while turning around to face his boyfriend on the couch.

“Uh, I’ve had too much wine, I guess.” Mike said with a sheepish smile.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Harvey wanted to look into the kid first, but he remembered that ‘Give your boyfriend a chance to express his thoughts and feelings much more often than you think it’s necessary.’ was one of the tips that he had read in his guidebook.

Mike looked at Harvey with surprise in his eyes. “Wouldn’t talking about kids be a buzz-kill? I wanted you to wait for me so we could have mind-boggling sex.”

Harvey laughed. Apparently Mike lived by the saying ‘Honesty is the best policy.’ Usually that kind of a saying didn’t work too well for lawyers but Mike was special and different. “We can have mind-boggling sex after we talk about it.”

Mike wore a wicked smile on his face. “Hey, I have a better idea. How good are your multitasking skills?”

“Very good. Have you already forgotten how I flew the plane and kissed you at the same time?”

“Now _that_ ’s a real buzz-kill! I thought we were going to crash!” Mike chuckled.

“Oh, you drama queen. I’ll show you what it’s like to crash.” Harvey grinned mischievously.

“Uh oh, this can’t be good.” Mike tried to shoot out of the couch but he was too late. In no time, Harvey picked him up and slung him over his shoulders.

“Harvey! Let me down!”

Harvey headed towards the bedroom. “Good evening, this is your captain speaking. Please remain seated until the seatbelt sign goes off.”

“Harvey!” Mike tried in vain to get his feet back on the ground as his face turned pink.

“What? You said you had a thing for pilots. If you want mind-boggling sex, you’ll need a pilot, don’t you think?”

“How considerate of you.” Mike giggled and felt Harvey throw him on the bed. God, he was so turned on by that single action.

“See? That’s what it’s like to crash.” Harvey smirked as he took off his shirt.

“Ready to do some multitasking yourself? You’ll have to talk and moan at the same time.” Harvey took off his jeans and climbed on top of Mike.

“I’m ready whenever you are.” Mike answered but he was certain that all he was going to do was moaning.

“Good. Then let’s have some mind-boggling sex, shall we?”

Harvey slowly started to undress his boyfriend, making sure that he was driving Mike crazy. He had offered Mike a chance to talk about the kid but he actually wanted Mike to forget about him- at least until Donna provided him with all the information that he needed. There was no better way to shut down Mike’s brain than distracting him with sex and luckily for him, Mike had made things easy by mentioning mind-boggling sex.

“Oh, Harvey…” Mike moaned loudly when Harvey gave him a love bite on his sensitive neck.

“Just relax, Mike.”

“God, I really love you. You know that?” Mike looked into Harvey’s eyes to show him the love and respect that he had for the older man. Since eyes were known to be the windows of the soul, he figured that Harvey would be able to see all his feelings through his eyes.

“I love you back, sweetheart.” It was still quite stunning for Harvey to find himself saying these kinds of sentences without having a heart attack, but he knew how to adapt and he loved to see Mike light up whenever he said such things.

“You’re an amazing person, Harvey. I can’t wait to explore every aspect of you.” Mike smiled and arched his back as Harvey’s lips moved beneath his waist.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Harvey said as he paid attention to Mike’s thighs.

“Regarding that matter, I was wondering if you’d like to move in with me sometime this year. I know it’s too soon and we’ve only been going out for a couple of months, but I have so much trouble staying away from you.”

Harvey removed his lips from Mike’s legs and looked up. “Are you serious? You think two people can live in this apartment?”

Mike laughed. “I was obviously going to suggest that we find a new place.”

Harvey was thrilled that he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t stay away but he was worried that Mike was just asking because he had too much wine.

“No, Harvey, I didn’t have that much wine.” Mike had learned a few tricks to read Harvey’s expressions.

“Then you thought about asking me when you cried over that kid today?” Harvey already knew the answer. Mike had probably pictured a child-friendly house when he had asked him if he had ever thought about having kids.

“I know it’s all too soon. I don’t know why at that moment I had this clear picture in my mind. God, Harvey, I looked so happy in it!”

“You did?” Harvey climbed up and kissed Mike firmly on the mouth. If his sweetheart wanted to be happier with him, how could he possibly deny that chance?

“I’m glad you included me in your future.” Harvey meant it.

Mike’s eyes grew bigger before they became smaller as he proceeded to smile. “Oh, you silly, you _are_ my future!”

Running a hand in Mike’s hair, Harvey wondered what he had done to deserve such a lovely man.

“What happened to multitasking?” Mike got Harvey out of his thoughts. “You have two hands, Harvey. You can caress my hair and take care of my throbbing love at the same time.”

Harvey laughed. “We should really work on your dirty talk, Mike.”

“What for? It apparently works on you.” Mike lowered his gaze hungrily and Harvey decided that it was time to get their minds boggled.

 

THE END.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Author’s note_ : This has been a particularly difficult journey so I’m very relieved that I somehow made it to the finish line :) Thank you for reading and I'd like to thank every kind reader that took his/her precious time to leave me encouraging comments. I couldn’t have finished this story without your amazing support :)
> 
> For those who are interested in reading a little bit more, there will be an epilogue regarding what Harvey, Mike and their adopted son will be doing for Christmas. Since it’s the holiday seasons and I can’t resist writing about kids, I figured that I could give one last try in this verse :D


	9. Epilogue

  
_The day when Harvey and Mike started a family…_

Mike was reading yet another book on child rearing when Harvey walked out of the bedroom. “How do I look?”

Mike looked up and took in the sight of Harvey wearing one of his best suits. He held up his thumb and beamed. “Just like a rich dad who’s going to bring his son home.”

“Perfect. You’re sure you don’t want to come with me? It could be less awkward with you around. He’s already known you for almost a year.”

“Nah, I’d rather wait till you come home with him. I think you and Jamie could use some bonding time without me. Like you said, he already knows me but he doesn’t know much about you.”

“Well, just remember that I offered you a chance. Don’t cry tonight when he picks me as his favorite dad.”

“Pfft, that’s not going to happen but I guess a man can dream.”

Harvey lightly smacked the back of Mike’s head and grabbed his keys from the coffee table. “Wish me luck!”

 

While he drove to the orphanage, Harvey reminisced about everything that had happened since Mike had told him that he was Mike’s future. Donna had dug up every piece of information about Jamie and it turned out that the kid’s parents had died from drug abuse and that he had no living relatives. That had happened in May, and Mike had asked him to move to a new house together in June. Then Harvey had brought up the subject of adoption which had his puppy tear up with joy. They had visited the orphanage to ask the kid about it and Harvey had never had so much trouble biting back the tears.

Everything had gone very fast from then. They had bought a spacious house and had started the adoption process. Harvey had felt that he should ask Mike to marry him before they got a son, but Mike had told him that he would like to get married when homosexual people could get married anywhere in the States. Then Harvey had included his new son in his will and had informed his parents that he was going to start a family.

‘And, here I am, picking up my boy.’ Harvey mused with excitement as he parked the car.

As soon as he stepped out of the car, he saw the director and the boy sitting on the stairs that led to the building. He had barely taken a step when the boy jumped up and ran towards him. “Dad!”

Harvey felt a lump in his throat. The cute kid with blue eyes had just called him dad. He swallowed the lump, bent down and ruffled the dark, soft hair. “Hey, young man, ready to go home?”

The boy nodded so hard that Harvey was momentarily worried that he would injure his neck. “Okay, let’s give the lovely lady a big hug and get going.”

He didn’t watch the two say their goodbyes and texted Mike instead. He wasn’t planning to be reduced to tears when he wanted to look his best for the kid.

“I’m ready, dad.” Jamie smiled and searched for Harvey’s hand.

Harvey shook hands with the director with his free hand and headed to the car. “Hop in, son. Do you know how to fasten your seatbelt?”

“Of course! I’m seven.”

Harvey pinched the kid’s cheek and carefully closed the door before going around to the other side of the car and getting in. “So do you like burgers?”

“Of course! I’m seven.” Jamie grinned.

“Answering two different questions with the same answer? I’m impressed.” Harvey chuckled.

“Thank you.” Jamie smiled sweetly and for a split second, Harvey saw Mike in him.

“What do you say we get a burger and a Coke on our way home? I’ll tell you a little secret.” Harvey gestured to the kid to come closer.

He whispered in the kid’s ear as if someone might be able to hear their secret, “Your other dad is planning to make you eat super healthy. That means only one burger and a Coke every month!”

Harvey had expected the boy to gasp or pretend to faint but Jamie just blinked his eyes. “Kid?”

“I get to eat a burger and a Coke every month? Awesome!”

That was when Harvey remembered that he was talking to a kid that had spent years in an orphanage.

“What’s wrong, dad? Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry. I don’t want a burger if it’s expensive…” Jamie said in a small voice, looking very worried.

Harvey had to look away for a second because a tear was threatening to make an appearance. Then he cleared his throat and leaned towards the passenger seat to give his son a hug. “Nothing’s wrong. I love you, son.”

“I love you too, dad.”

Feeling the small arms wrapped around his shoulders, Harvey felt as if he could do anything for the boy. “Let’s go eat those burgers then. But first, you’re going to call Mike and let him know that we’re not going straight home, okay?”

“Okay!”

Harvey dialed Mike and handed over the phone. As he started the car and listened to his son talk to the man that he loved, Harvey realized that he had a new family.

 

 _The day when Harvey and Mike realized that their boy was a genius…_

Harvey had just come into the bedroom after tucking his son into bed when Mike caught his attention with a serious look on his face.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He joined his boyfriend on the bed, leaning back into the pillows.

“We might want to move him to another school, Harvey.”

“Mike, we already send him to the best private school in the city.” Then Harvey got worried. “Is someone bullying him?”

“What? No. I’m sure everybody loves him. Because, seriously… how can you not love him? He’s kind, honest, courageous, smart, witty, athletic, good-looking… Well, you know I could go on till sunrise.” Mike knew that he sounded like a parent who thought that the world revolved around his child, but really, he and Harvey had the perfect son.

“What’s this about then?” Harvey flung his arm around Mike’s shoulders and closed his eyes. It was probably nothing serious. Mike had become the King of Worries ever since they had adopted the kid. It didn’t bother Harvey though; he thought that it was sweet of Mike to care so much for a kid that wasn’t biologically his.

“I think he might need gifted education.”

Harvey’s eyes flew open. “Our boy is a genius? I knew it!”

Mike beamed. It seemed like it wouldn’t need a lot of convincing to talk Harvey into sending Jamie to a school for gifted and talented students. “So do you want to hear what happened?”

“I always want to hear what happened.”

Mike snuggled up to Harvey and rested his head on Harvey’s shoulder. He started by telling his boyfriend about how Jamie had got only one answer wrong in his spelling test. Mike believed that a seven year old student didn’t need to know how to spell ‘mayonnaise’; Jamie had written ‘mayo’ correctly and that would do in the real world. Then Mike moved onto telling him how the boy had found Waldo in the ‘Where’s Waldo?’ books in mere seconds while Harvey was at the gym. Mike closed his defense by explaining how Jamie remembered all the food that he had eaten during the past week.

Harvey listened attentively before agreeing, “Okay, he’s a genius.”

“I know! This is so exciting!” Mike crushed Harvey with his hug.

“I think he got it from me. Sorry, puppy.” Harvey wore a smug look on his face and patted Mike on the back.

“What? That’s absurd! We all know that I’m the genius between the two of us.” Mike’s head shot up from Harvey’s shoulder. This was a matter of DNA pride. He and Harvey often liked to think that they were Jamie’s biological parents in an alternative universe, and this tug of war had been going on for months already.

“I admit you’re a genius, Mike, but that doesn’t mean _I_ ’m not a genius. I may not have a photographic memory, but I know how to connect the dots and you know better than anyone what a genius I am in court.”

Mike crossed his arms, clicked his tongue, and shook his head at the same time. In court, he always battled _with_ Harvey but at home, he usually battled against him. It was a nice debate practice for Mike and it turned him on so much that their battles often ended with Mike jumping Harvey in a child-proof place. “He has my pretty blue eyes, Harvey. He obviously got all the awesome things from me.”

“He’s got my luscious, dark hair, Mike. You know, the hair that you can’t stop running your hands in whenever I’m nearby.”

“Pfft, your hair is nice and I like it, but you get completely lost in my eyes. I can always tell.”

“Oh, yeah? Let’s take a look at those eyes then.” Harvey grabbed Mike’s face and looked into the mesmerizing orbs.

“Like what you see?” Mike asked, running his hands in Harvey’s hair.

“Like what you feel?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

Mike let out a pleasant groan from the back of his throat and Harvey had to pull him in for a deep kiss. If Mike were to tease him later, he would tell him that he just needed to find the origin of that mysterious sound.

 

 _The day when Mike and Jamie camped in the living room…_

When Harvey had come back home after having a few drinks with his friends, the first thing that he noticed was that there was a tent in the middle of his living room.

‘Since when did we have a tent?’ Harvey locked the door and heard giggles coming from the tent.

‘Great. Who knew that Harvey Specter would end up with a tent full of giggling blue-eyed creatures?’ He mused as he stomped towards the tent.

“Oh my god, daddy! I think the big, bad bear is out there!”

“I read in a book that we have to be quiet and pretend that we’re dead. Oh, and bears can smell yummy things so I think we have to throw out the marshmallows.”

Harvey was impressed at his boy. Then he heard something non-impressive.

“Marshmallows? But I only had five!”

Harvey rubbed his chin and let out another frustrated roar. Wasn’t Mike supposed to be the responsible one?

“We need to give him the marshmallows, daddy! Stuff as many as you can in your mouth so I can throw them out!”

Harvey grinned wickedly and stomped closer to the tent. A bag half-full of marshmallows flew out of the tent but Harvey wasn’t going to back down.

“I smell something yummy in there.” He growled and shook the tent.

The campers screamed but the bear shook the tent even harder. Then Harvey heard someone unzip the tent and as he took a few steps towards the entrance, he spotted a jar of honey.

‘What? Who do they think I am? Winnie the Pooh? Whose idea was that?! I’m a big, bad bear, not a lazy, obese Pooh!’ Harvey was offended. There was only one way to make himself feel better.

“I smell two yummy boys in there! Fear me, for I’m going to enjoy my meal!” He unzipped the tent and threw himself in it.

“Ahhh!! Daddy! The bear is in!”

“Oh, Jamie! Look at his intimidating fur!”

“Run, daddy, run! Let the world know that I died bravely, fighting the big, bad bear!”

Mike ran out of the tent while Harvey grabbed his son and started to tickle him while making chewing sounds. “Om nom nom…”

Listening to his son play the part of an unfortunate victim of the nature, Mike calmly sat on the floor and ate his marshmallows. ‘Hmm, perhaps he will become the next Brad Pitt. Gosh, why does he have to have so many talents? It’s so hard to choose the right path for him!’

While Mike was preoccupied with his thoughts, picturing Jamie in all kinds of successful scenarios, Harvey had finished his appetizer and had come out of the tent. “Oh, here’s something bigger. I’ll take it to my cave and enjoy it properly.”

Mike looked up at Harvey and before he knew it, he was thrown over the bear’s shoulder. “Harvey!”

“Who’s Harvey? I’m the big, bad bear.” Harvey heard giggles from the dead camper inside the tent.

Harvey moved into the bedroom, carrying Mike on his shoulder and locked the door. This had been fun.

“What are you doing, Harvey?” Mike landed on the bed, still holding onto the bag of marshmallows.

“You didn’t pay attention to what the bear said? I’m going to enjoy you properly.” Harvey’s predatory smile never failed to make Mike blush from face to neck.

“You know this cave is soundproof, right? You can scream for help but nobody’s going to hear you. Oh, and I’ll take those marshmallows. I happen to know the perfect way to use them.” Harvey winked and snatched the bag of marshmallows with one hand while he pinned Mike down with the other. It turned out that the bear didn’t need to roast his meal; it was already glowing in a pretty shade of red.

 

 _The day when the family celebrated Christmas Eve…_

“Is it done?” Jamie poked his head into the bedroom. He had asked Mike to sew his name on his sock so that Santa Claus would know that he had come to the right house.

“Not yet. What’s your dad doing?” Mike asked, trying not to poke his finger with the needle again.

“He’s on the phone with someone in the book room. It must be a super secret call.” The boy added a dramatic tone at the end.

Mike laughed. Harvey was probably on the phone with Ray who had volunteered to play Santa for Jamie. “So how do you know that Santa’s real? You don’t think those handsome princes who ride white horses and save princesses are real.”

“It’s simple.” Jamie jumped on the bed and put his head on Mike’s shins. “I’ve met Santa when he came to the orphanage. Well, he looked different every year but he gets older so that’s normal. And, he brought me you and dad, so he’s real.”

Mike chuckled. He was almost done with sewing. “And, you haven’t met a prince yet?”

“Nope.” Jamie shook his head.

“Too bad for you! Luckily, _I_ have met a prince.” Mike said as he handed over the sock.

“Really? When?” Jamie’s eyes were filled with curiosity.

“When I met your dad with a bag full of… um, herbs.”

“Dad is a prince? Since when?” Jamie had to admit that Harvey was more handsome than any of the princes in the storybooks, but he had never seen him ride a white horse or save a princess.

“Since he saved me! I was in huge trouble but your dad opened the white door so that I could hide.”

“Ooh, tell me more.”

“I was running away from bad people in this beautiful hotel, protecting the bag of herbs that were going to help sick people.” Mike felt guilty for telling such a lie but he wasn’t going to let his kid know that he had been in possession of a large amount of drugs. “I was running down the stairs like an action star! So fast! Taking two steps at a time!” If he was going to lie, he figured that there would be no harm in adding a few more lies.

“Wooh!” Jamie liked action.

“But those bad guys knew how to run! I thought I was going to get caught! So I looked around if there was anywhere I could hide! Then I brilliantly remembered that there was an interview going on for a law firm!”

Jamie clapped his hands in excitement.

“So I ran into the interview room and that’s how I met Auntie Donna! She winked at someone inside the white doors and told me to go in. I went in and… bam!”

“Dad was there!”

“Yes, he was! Looking so smart and handsome! He hid me until the bad guys went away and well, we’re now here with a beautiful boy like you.” Mike bent down and pressed a kiss on the child’s forehead.

“That’s great! I’m going to be someone’s prince too!”

“Awesome!” Mike was happy that his kid had a good heart.

“Can you sew the word ‘Prince’ in front of my name, daddy? Don’t you think Santa will like to know that I’ll grow up and be a prince?”

“Prince? Uh, but that word has _six_ letters, buddy.” Mike didn’t think that he would have any fingertips left if he took on that challenge.

“Perhaps the original prince can help the new prince with that.” Harvey entered the scene and Mike couldn’t help but realize again that Harvey was indeed his prince.

“You know how to sew?” Mike asked skeptically.

“Of course. I used to be a boy scout. I thought you knew that.” Harvey said as he joined his blue-eyed cuties on the bed.

“Uh, I just thought that was an expression.” Mike handed over the sewing kit as he remembered how Harvey told him that he had been a boy scout whenever he produced a condom and a bottle of lube from seemingly nowhere.

“Watch and learn.” Harvey took the sock and started with ‘P’.

“Ooh, he does it so much better, Daddy.” Jamie exclaimed which made Harvey all smug and Mike all pouty.

“Hey, young man, why don’t you and Mike go make things easier for Santa? You guys still haven’t put those glow-in-the-dark stickers on the floor, right?”

Mike’s face became brighter as he wouldn’t have any problem putting huge arrows on the floor from the door to Jamie’s room. “Come on, Jamie. Let’s help Santa. You can be his prince!”

“Cool!”

The boys ran out of the bedroom and Harvey shook his head. ‘Who says I have one kid? I clearly have two!’

 

It didn’t take long for him to finish sewing and join his family in the living room.

“I don’t think Ray will have any problem finding his destination.” Harvey chuckled as Jamie walked into his room, out of earshot.

“That’s for sure.” Mike chuckled along and gave Harvey a kiss.

“What was that for?”

“For saving my fingers. God, I cannot sew to save my life.”

“It just takes a little practice, puppy. Tell you what. I’ll let you get some practice tonight.”

“Thanks but no thanks, Harvey. I’d really like to save what’s left of my fingers.”

“Oh, you don’t need your fingers for this type of sewing. You only need your mouth.”

“What do you mean?” Mike could tell that Harvey had a sexy idea.

“I’ll let you sew your name on my chest. Just keep it under the collar, will you?”

Mike couldn’t resist a long moan as he pictured his boyfriend with his name on his chest. He had always thought that Harvey looked wonderful with love bites. “You’re mine, Harvey.”

Harvey smiled. “That’s why I’m letting you do it, sweetheart.”

“Do we really have to wait till the night? It’s only four now!” Mike pressed himself against Harvey and moaned again.

“Mike, be a good boy or Santa won’t give you any presents.” Harvey kissed the tip of Mike’s nose.

“But I don’t want a present! I want you!”

Mike touched a spot on Harvey’s ass and Harvey felt a little light-headed with arousal. Mike smiled at the desired reaction. He had recently discovered that there was a spot on each of Harvey’s cheeks that acted like a ‘turn-on’ button. He had conducted a little experiment by having Jamie poke Harvey in the ass with his toy sword and by accidentally hitting Harvey’s ass with a frying pan, but it seemed as if the trick only worked with his hands.

‘It’s like Cupid shot him in the ass or something.’ Mike grinned as he caressed the spots with both hands while Harvey hung onto his shoulders, biting his lips to stop himself from moaning helplessly.

“In the bedroom. Now.” Harvey growled and Mike gladly yelled at Jamie’s direction that they would be having a secret meeting for a while.

Jamie snorted as he recognized his daddy’s unusually high tone. He had learned that daddy only used that tone when he was about to do naughty things with his dad. Checking if his sock was safely hung on his bed for the tenth time, he decided to ask Santa something else than a bicycle for Christmas. He sat on his desk and started to write an urgent letter to his idol.

 _Dear Mr. Claus,_

 _How are you doing today? Pumped up for the big night, huh? I know that you already made my wish come true when you gave me two dads and I wrote you that I wanted a bicycle, but now I want something else. I’m sorry! I don’t really need a bicycle but I really need my dads. So can you make them as happy as I am? Can you make them love each other as much as I love them? Thank you very much, Mr. Claus! Merry Christmas!_

 _\- Jamie Specter_   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :) It was a tough journey but it was fun to write a different type of Harvey :D Is it too early to yell Merry Christmas? Well, Merry Christmas! =D


End file.
